


Inseparable

by Wolfstang14



Series: Able series [2]
Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-11 01:13:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 35
Words: 62,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3310361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfstang14/pseuds/Wolfstang14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They have triplets now! Tony and Ziva must now adjust to life as not only partners, but parents as well! Sequel to "Undeniable", rated T for language and minor violence. TIVA! and some McAbby. Slightly AU, starts with "Family", finished with "One Year".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Family

_Tony's POV_

It might have been a Saturday, but out of sheer force of habit, I woke up at the ungodly hour of six o' clock in the morning. DiNozzos do  _not_ do waking up early, especially on a weekend. Annoyed, I was about to roll over when I suddenly registered a warm body pressed into mine and looked down to see my wife, head burrowed in my chest, a ghost of a smile on her beautiful face, bathed in the morning's golden sunlight.

Ziva David is many things- a kick-ass NCIS agent, an ex-Mossad assassin, deadly, intelligent, sharp-tongued and absolutely gorgeous.

She also happens to be my wife. (Technically her full name is David-DiNozzo, but no one really ever calls her that.)

If someone had told me six years ago, when I first met Ziva that I would end up marrying the beautiful Israeli, I most likely would have died laughing. At the time I was the immature playboy, determined to never settle down. To add to that, Ziva was also the half-sister to Ari Haswari, the man who had murdered my former partner, Caitlin Todd.

Despite all of this, something grew between the two of us. Ziva became part of our team, and I got to know more about her as a person. I tried to keep my feelings for her at bay, and for six years was able to keep our relationship a semi-professional one, but I could never rid myself of that nagging feeling. And then one day everything came to a head.

One day Ziva was shot in the chest.

I'm ashamed to say that it took almost losing my partner to finally realize that I  _couldn't_ bear to lose her. And so on that day, as I frantically tried to keep my partner, my  _love_ , from slipping away, I finally said those three important words.

_I love you._

And now I lay in our master bed, marveling at the Israeli beauty cuddled up against me. Ziva's olive skin glowed in the early morning sunlight, and her dark curls cascaded over her pillow. Her slim frame rose and fell with each soft breath, and for a few minutes I just gazed lovingly at her sleeping form and then gently reached out and brushed a stray lock out of her face. Ziva's eyelids flickered, and then opened, revealing my favorite feature- her gorgeous chocolate brown eyes. Those eyes now focused on my face, and a tired smile lit up her face. Immediately I felt guilty for waking her up.

"I'm sorry Zi, I didn't mean to wake you up" I whispered. Ziva gave a low chuckle, snuggling closer to me.

"Mmmm… I do not mind waking up to you Tony. Especially when it means this…" Ziva wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into one hell of a kiss. I responded by winding my fingers through her hair, losing myself in the heat of the moment. Eventually we broke apart (we did need to breathe after all) and I continued to run my hands through her curls, smiling. Ziva, meanwhile, kneaded the skin on my chest. Pulling her closer to me, I gently nibbled on her earlobe.

"You are one gorgeous woman, Zi, you know that? God I'm so damn lucky" I hissed, trailing my hand over her soft cheek. Ziva's chocolate eyes sparkled, and she opened her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a sound, a small cry filled the air, which brings me to something that I would never have believed six years ago.

I'm a father.

To triplets.

A little over a month ago Ziva gave birth to two girls and a boy- Caitlin, the oldest, Tali, the middle child and Isaiah, the youngest, via a C-section. And a little over a month ago I completely lost my heart to our three beautiful children. Although, I do have to admit that taking care of three children is hard work.

 _A lot_ of hard work.

Rousted by the cry, Ziva let out a low moan before she began to roll out of the bed. I shot out my hand to stop her. "I'll take care of it, Zi." Ziva just shook my hand off.

"Kate is hungry Tony, and if she does not get fed soon, she'll wake up Tali and Isaiah as well. It will take you too long to heat up the bottles. If you could heat up the milk for the other two and feed Engel that would be very helpful." Giving a grunt, I rolled out of bed and followed Ziva into the nursery, wondering for perhaps the hundredth time how Ziva could tell the cries of the babies apart and what each cry meant, when the cries all sounded the same to me.

When we entered the ocean-themed nursery, we were immediately and enthusiastically greeted by a black-and-tan furry tornado. Although his name means "angel", Engel, our 11-month-old German shepherd is sometimes anything but. However, ever since the triplets had been brought home, Engel had slept in their room, taking his position as the guardian angel. Right now, however, Engel was probably more interested in his breakfast.

By the time I had extracted myself from Engel's greeting, Ziva had already taken Kate out of her crib and was unbuttoning her nightgown, preparing to feed our oldest. Knowing that our other two children would wake up soon, I quickly headed down the stairs to the kitchen, Engel pushing excitedly in front of me. Once in the kitchen, I filled Engel's food and water bowls and began to heat up two bottles of breast milk that Ziva had refrigerated the night before.

Once Engel was buried in his food bowl, and the two bottles were the right temperature, I carefully made my way back up the stairs just in time to hear a second cry start up. Entering the nursery, I saw Tali squirming in her crib, her tiny face scrunched up in a comical grimace. After setting the bottles down on the table between the two rocking chairs in the room, I carefully pulled Tali out of her crib and brought her close to my chest, babbling as I made my way over to the rocking chair next to the one that Ziva was sitting and nursing Kate in.

"Hey there Tali girl, Daddy's right here. Yeah, I bet you're pretty hungry, aren't you? Here you go sweetie." I carefully maneuvered the bottle's nipple to her lips, trying to get her to latch on through touch. Unlike her siblings, Tali couldn't see where the bottle was- she's blind. Her optic nerves were somehow damaged sometime during Ziva's pregnancy, so while her eyes themselves are perfectly fine, there is nothing to transfer the images they see to the brain, hence no sight.

However, Tali never seems to be all that fussed about her lack of sight, probably because she's never been able to see. Instead, she uses her other senses to navigate, especially her touch and hearing. Finally I got Tali latch on to the bottle, and in no time the comforting sound of her steady sucking filled the air, causing me to grin. I continued to babble nonsense to my second daughter while Ziva finished feeding and burping Kate. She then took Isaiah, who had woken up and started crying, out of his crib and started to feed him with the other bottle.

As Tali was feeding, I heard my cell phone, still in the master bedroom, go off. I groaned softly while Tali cocked her head at the shrill sound, and then got up and hurried over to our bedroom. After some careful maneuvering of Tali and the bottle I picked up the phone and glanced at the caller ID on my screen and saw that the caller was Gibbs. Knowing that I couldn't ignore this call, I let out a sigh and flipped the cell open.

"Boss, it's a Saturday! I…" Gibbs cut me off, his voice taut.

"Get down here  _now_ DiNozzo, you and Ziva. I need all hands on deck- a female Navy Lieutenant was found tied up and murdered in Norfolk. She'd just given birth."

"The baby's missing."

 


	2. Returning

_Ziva’s POV_

When Tony’s cell phone rang, I had just started to feed Isaiah, using the bottle, as my body was out of milk. Our only son latched onto the bottle immediately, making happy sucking noises as he fed. His green eyes- so much like his father’s- gazed into mine, and I marveled at the peaceful look that radiated from them.

“I hope that you keep that peaceful look forever little one” I murmured as he continued to watch me. “You and your sisters will never have to endure that so-called ‘childhood’ that I went through. Not as long as I still have a breath to fight with.” As Isaiah continued to feed, seemingly taking in every word, a feeling of profound peace washed over me.

That peaceful feeling did not last long, however. Seconds after I had finished speaking to our son, Tony came stomping into the nursery, cursing angrily. This quickly caught my attention- Tony _never_ cursed around the babies. In fact, he had never shown any kind of anger while around them. When his face turned to me, I was taken aback. Tony’s jaw was clenched; the cords in his neck stood out in sharp relief, and his eyes radiated fury. Poor Tali, who was always quick to pick up on our emotions, was terrified by her father’s sudden anger and was trying to shrink away from him, whimpering in fear.

“Tony, what is wrong!?” I gasped. When he did not respond to my question, I sharpened my tone. “Tony, stop! You are frightening Tali!” That worked. Immediately a concerned look replaced the earlier look of fury on Tony’s face when he beheld Tali’s frightened reaction.

“Oh, Tali, I’m so sorry, sweetie. Shhh, shh, it’s okay, Daddy’s not mad at you. I could never be mad at you, princess.” Tony rocked our middle daughter back and forth until she calmed down and eventually fell asleep. Tony placed Tali back in her crib and then turned and faced Isaiah and me, the dark look returning on his face yet again.

“I’m sorry for the outburst Zi. Gibbs just called- a Navy Lieutenant was found dead this morning, but that’s not the worst part. Apparently she’d just given birth, and the baby’s been kidnapped.” I gasped and instinctively rose out of the rocking chair to move protectively towards _my_ babies. My mind in turmoil, I burped Isaiah and laid him back in his crib before turning back to Tony, who was waiting for my response. I let out a tired sigh.

“You need to go to the Navy Yard, yes?” I knew that the situation was dire, but this was the first time that Tony had been back to work since the triplet’s birth, and I did not like having to be separated from him- Gibbs had yet to allow me to come back to work, due to the fact I had undergone surgery only a month before. Tony started rubbing the back of his head nervously, a sure sign that he had not told me everything yet.

“Actually Zi, Gibbs asked that you come down as well. He said he doesn’t want you to do any fieldwork, but he does need your experience.”

Immediately I drew back from this. The triplets were only a month old, and I did not want to leave them yet. There was also the fact that I did not feel that I was physically ready for work. Tony must have caught my hesitation, because he gently placed both of his hands on my shoulders.

“Ziva, I know that this is a lot to ask of you, but we need your help. The triplets can stay at the new baby daycare that we looked at, and when we’re in the field you can go visit them.” In a softer tone he added, “Zi, you know Gibbs and I wouldn’t ask you to do this if we didn’t think this was so important. But there’s a newborn baby out there that may be running out of time. That baby needs our help. Please Zi.”

 _What if it were Kate, Tali or Isaiah?_ I thought, and at that moment I knew what I needed to do.

“Alright” I said, “I will go back.”

…..

Forty-five minutes later Tony and I had dropped the triplets off at a brand-new daycare center five blocks from our home and were striding into the bullpen. Gibbs and McGee were standing by the plasma, accompanied by a nervous-looking red haired agent in her mid-twenties, whom I guessed was Probationary Agent Carla Reiley, my temporary stand-in. Her blue eyes were nervously fixed on the screen in front of her, and I wondered how she had managed to stay on the team for as long as she had. From the space between her and the two male agents, I guessed that she had not made a good impression on them.

Looking at the plasma, I saw that it displayed two pictures. The first was a Navy ID photograph of an African-American woman around my age looking confidently at the camera, her black eyes strong and piercing. When I looked at the second photograph, this one from the crime scene, I was immediately taken aback- that picture showed her to be thinner, weaker, beaten. I was so shocked by the second picture that I almost missed what McGee was saying as he caught us up on the case.

“Tony, Ziva, our victim is Lieutenant Marcia Terranova of the US Navy. She spent three years of active duty in Iraq before she transferred back to D.C. to become part of J.A.G. Met her husband, Ensign Matthew Terranova there, and married three years ago, and went on leave after she found out she was pregnant. However, six months ago she filed for divorce. The Lieutenant Marcia was found early this morning in her house by a security company when the alarm went off at 3:17 am. Ducky estimates the time of death to be around then, and…” McGee’s voice cut off abruptly.

“McGee, what happened to her?” I asked, although I dreaded the answer. McGee closed his eyes, clearly pained by what he had to say next. He was finally able to speak, but his voice did not go above a whisper.

“Du-Ducky said that she had been tied up for at least four days before the birth, and that she didn’t receive any medical attention when she gave birth, and the birth was a very difficult one- she had a lot of tearing and bleeding, both external and internal. She was killed with a bullet to the head, but she was already dying by the time the baby was born, even if she had been brought to a hospital, she might not have lived. We-we don’t know if the baby survived the birth, but he or she is missing.” McGee’s eyes remained downcast the entire time he spoke, and I could see that he was shaking slightly. It was clear he was as horrified by these events as I was, and he was probably thinking the same thing that I was- what if this had been one of the girls? Shaking that macabre thought from my head with some difficulty, I forced my emotions aside and tried to think like the investigator I was supposed to be.

“McGee, were Lieutenant Terranova and her husband living together?” I asked, an idea forming. McGee nodded.

“If you are asking whether or not he was there, no, he wasn’t, even though they were still living together. We’ve been trying to track him, but he’s turned his cell phone off, he didn’t report in to work today and there haven’t been any alerts on his known credit cards.” _Definitely suspicious_ I thought.

“Do we know why the Lieutenant was filing for divorce?” Tony asked.

“Apparently she caught her husband cheating on her with another woman- it doesn’t say who on the documents, but apparently they were going to separate in a few months, and she was going to get custody of their child. She was also requesting for a transfer in J.A.G.” Tony and I traded glances.

“Maybe Ensign Matthew was desperate enough to keep his baby that he killed the Lieutenant for her” Tony said.

“If that is true, then there is a greater chance that the baby would be alive, but at the same time, Ensign Terranova will be more desperate to hide from the law.” I replied. Before anyone could respond, McGee’s computer started to beep, and he rushed over to it.

“Found him!” McGee shouted.

“Where?” Gibbs snapped.

“He just turned on his cell, he’s at a downtown bar- I’m printing the address right now.” McGee pulled a sheet of paper off of his printer and handed it to Gibbs.

“Gear up! David, you stay here and find whatever out whatever you can about these two.” I opened my mouth to protest, but Gibbs stopped me.

“No arguments, David.” In a gentler tone he added, “I know it’s hard, but you’re still recovering from surgery. I need you to stay here. We’ll bring him in.” I nodded and went over to my desk, which had not changed any since I had left it over two months ago. Apparently Agent Reiley was not allowed to sit there. Starting up my computer, I laid a hand on Tony’s arm as he rushed past. He stopped and looked down at me, eyes soft.

“Be careful, Ahava. You have four people needing you to return safely.” Tony gave a brief smile and kissed my forehead.

“I’ll be fine, Zi, you know that. See you in a bit.” He gave my shoulder a quick pat and then hurried after the rest of the team, slipping into the elevator just in time. As the doors shut, I saw him give me a small wave.

 _I hope you will be alright_ I thought. I just could not shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong. 


	3. Can't Take Me Down

_Tony’s POV_

Five minutes after I had said my goodbyes to Ziva, Gibbs, McGee, Reiley and I were all packed into a Charger and were racing to Ensign Terranova’s cell signal. Earlier, when we had been getting into the Charger I had beat Tim to the shotgun spot. Now he was sitting in the back, glowering at me- clearly he didn’t appreciate being stuck in the back seat with Reiley, and it soon became apparent why. Her hand was clutching the door in a death grip- I could easily see that her knuckles were white- and every time Gibbs would narrowly miss a car, curb, or lamp post she would let out a terrified squeak, her eyes bulging in fear.

 _If she’s this bad with a simple car ride, how does she handle crime scenes?_ I wondered silently. I was going to make a snide comment, (being a dad doesn’t mean I can’t have fun every once in a while!) but as I looked back, I could see that McProbie was giving me the _don’t go there_ look, and I decided to remain silent- for now.

The Charger whipped around one final curve, producing yet another squeak from Reiley before we skidded to a halt in front of a decrepit- looking bar that was supposed to be Ensign Terranova’s current location. As we exited the car, we could clearly hear loud strains of angry-sounding rock music, even though the bar’s door was shut. I desperately hoped that the baby was not here, and catching McGee’s eyes, it was clear that he was thinking the same thing. Gibbs gave us a curt nod, and we went into the bar.

Once inside, I had to stop myself from keeling over. The waves of rock music, blasted at an ear-bleeding level were bad enough, but the smell of the place- a combination of stale cigarette smoke, even staler alcohol, body odor and of course, vomit- was enough to make the strongest man weak-kneed. As we crossed the bar, looking for the Ensign in the dimly-lit room, I could feel my shoes constantly sticking to some unknown substance, and for once I was glad I couldn’t see the floor all that well.

Fortunately for us it wasn’t hard to spot Matthew. The now-single Ensign was sitting alone at a bar stool, nursing a half-filled mug of beer. As we approached, I scanned the area around him and was relieved to see that there was no baby nearby. This was no place for a baby, but also meant that we were no closer to finding the baby either.

“Ensign Terranova!” Gibbs barked as we came up to him, causing Matthew to turn. I suppressed a groan. The Ensign was _huge_ , easily six feet tall and probably weighing more than 250 pounds, all of which seemed to be pure muscle. This guy was more tank than man, and to make matters worse, he was clearly drunk- his eyes were bloodshot and he was swaying slightly in his seat. From the looks of things he was either going to pass out soon or he would quickly become combative, and neither option was a good one.

 “Whaddya want?” The Ensign mumbled, taking a swig of his beer.

“Agent Gibbs, NCIS” Gibbs responded, flashing his badge. “These are Agents DiNozzo, McGee and Reiley.” Reiley started slightly at this and I guessed that she had not been called ‘Agent’ before. “We need to ask you a few questions Ensign.”

“You do, huh? ‘Course the damn cops would come lookin’ for me now- as if I didn’t have enough problems in the first place” Matthew growled. He finished the rest of his beer in one huge gulp, and then slammed the mug down on the counter top, causing a few people around us to turn and stare. Ignoring them, he wiped his mouth with the back of his huge hand, setting his bloodshot eyes on Gibbs once again.

“Alright, what do you need?” he grunted.

Gibbs, amazingly, remained completely unfazed, despite the Ensign’s clear hostility. “Do you know where your baby is, Ensign Terranova?”

“Baby? What the hell are you talkin’ about fed? I don’t have a goddamn baby! My bitch of a wife made sure I didn’t get any custody of that kid she’s carrying, hell, she was going to move away to make sure I couldn’t see it!” Matthew snarled, spittle flying.

 _Gee, I wonder why_ I thought. _Might not be the best thing for the baby’s health to have an aggressive, alcoholic tank of a father._ Looking at Gibbs, I could see that he continued to be unfazed, but his gaze had gone hard.

“So you don’t know where your wife or your unborn child is right are right now?” Gibbs asked calmly. The Ensign’s eyes flashed and he slammed his fist onto the countertop, causing me to instantly drop my hand to the butt of my gun. By now, even the pounding music wasn’t enough to cover up the sound and most of the bar was staring in our direction, although Terranova was still completely oblivious to all but us.

“I’ve already told you assholes- I don’t know ANYTHING! Why the hell are you bothering me!?” he roared. The bar went completely silent at this, and Gibbs had to scowl at the staring people. The patrons quickly got the message and went back to their conversations, although many of them continued to sneak not-so-subtle glances in our direction. Gibbs spoke in a low tone to the Ensign, clearly wanting to avoid too much of a scene.

“Ensign Terranova, we need you to come down to NCIS with us. Your wife was found dead this morning, and the baby is missing.” I noticed that Gibbs left out the fact that Lieutenant Terranova had been forced to give birth before her death, probably to avoid further conflict. It didn’t seem to matter, however. For a few seconds the Ensign could only stare at Gibbs with his mouth hanging open.

And then something snapped.

Matthew’s face contorted into a mask of pure rage and a tremendous roar ripped out of his throat. He rose out of his chair with incredible speed and to my horror, he lunged at Reiley, whom he clearly viewed as the weakest of all of us. Had this been Ziva, the Ensign would have been making a big mistake, but it wasn’t Ziva, and all Reiley did was stumble backwards, screaming in terror.

I was the closest to Reiley, and instinct overrode rational thought. I rushed forward to intercept the rage-driven Ensign, and as I did, a memory of Ziva teaching me self-defense flashed through my brain, and I could hear her voice echoing through my head.

 _Tony, your elbow is your strongest joint, so use it. Try to aim for soft tissue- the eyes, throat or groin- that is the best way to quickly disable your attacker._ Suddenly it felt like we were going through training again, and as I brought my elbow up, it was as if her hands were guiding it, sending it smashing into the Ensign’s right eye. The monstrous man drew back, clutching at his eye and howling in pain. I stood there in shock, amazed that I had hit him so squarely.

My amazement was my downfall. I heard McGee yell my name a split second before the completely pissed-off Ensign grabbed me and flung me bodily over the counter.

For a few seconds I flew through the air, and then to my horror I realized I was fast approaching a wall of wine bottles. I only had enough time to cover the back of my head and neck before I slammed full-force in to the wall.

The initial blow stunned me, driving all the air from my lungs, and at first I was only aware of the sound of shattering glass. It wasn’t until I had started to slide down to the floor that I felt the pain. My back, wrists and head were on fire, and through the haze of pain I realized that I had shards of glass embedded deeply in my back and arms, my wrists were broken, and I had hit my head on one of the shelves. The combination of the all-consuming pain and the blow to my head was just too much for me. I just barely heard the sound of a single gunshot ring out over the blaring music and then one final thought ran through my head.

_Ziva’s gonna be **pissed.**_

Then I fell into blackness.   


	4. Why, Tony?

_McGee’s POV_

When Tony hit Ensign Terranova directly in the eye, I was completely taken aback. Tony was normally the kind of guy who would go for some kind of masculine approach. I assumed that he would have done something like a punch to the jaw, which, considering the Ensign’s sheer mass, would probably hurt DiNozzo more than it would have hurt Terranova. Instead Tony used an elbow lift similar to ones that I had seen Ziva use, and I guessed that Tony’s wife had been teaching him Mossad fight tactics. _You know, that would be a great idea for my next book_ I thought suddenly.

However, my musings were quickly broken when I saw that Tony was still standing where he had hit the Ensign, completely rooted to the spot and clearly stunned that his move had actually worked. But that wasn’t the worst part. No, the worst part was the fact that the now thoroughly pissed-off Ensign had recovered enough to start lunging towards my partner with a crazed look in his good eye.

“TONY!” I frantically yelled, but it was too late. Although Tony had finally snapped out of it, he didn’t have enough time to react. The gigantic Ensign lifted Tony bodily and threw him over the countertop and into the wall- a wall that was lined with glass wine bottles. At that point, everything slowed down for me. Tony’s flight- which in reality was probably only seconds long- seemed to go on for ages, and I was powerless to stop it. Glass shattered in all directions, and to my horror I saw countless shards dig themselves into Tony’s back seconds before his limp body crashed to the floor.

As soon as I had recovered from my shock, I started towards DiNozzo, only to find my way blocked by a still-angry Terranova. Without really thinking, I pulled out my Glock, aimed it in the general direction of his body, and fired. There was a flash and the bullet tore into the Ensign’s shoulder, causing him to roar in pain and clutch at the wound. He lurched towards me, but froze when I leveled the barrel of my gun at his forehead. Adrenaline and anger coursed through my body and I struggled to keep my hand steady and my voice calm.

“Give me one reason Ensign, and I’ll do it” I growled. “Lay down on the floor with your arms straight out in front of you and your fingers spread. Do it!” I barked when he hesitated. I must have looked like I meant it, because seconds later Terranova dropped to the floor and spread out his arms, yelping when the movement jostled his injured shoulder- at this point I really didn’t care. I kept my gun leveled at the huge man as Gibbs cuffed him and dragged him towards the wall. As soon I knew that the situation was under control, I rushed over to where Tony’s limp form was- now surrounded by a small crowd.

“Federal Agent!” I bellowed as I approached. “You all need to back away!” The crowd, once they saw my gun, quickly scattered, all except for Reiley, who just stood there, staring at Tony. Her entire body was shaking, her eyes were wide with shock, and her hands covered her mouth.

“H-h-he saved me” she whimpered dramatically. For a brief second I seriously contemplated slapping her, but instead I rolled my eyes, holstered my gun, leaned down next to my limp partner, and settled for yelling at her instead.

“Reiley! Don’t just stand there! Make yourself useful and call 911!” My voice broke the cowering woman out of her revere, and she pulled her phone out and dialed with shaking hands. As Reiley spoke to the dispatcher, I carefully reached out and placed two fingers on Tony’s neck, relief washing over me when I felt a pulse. My relief quickly vanished when I felt how fast his pulse was racing. Looking at Tony’s chest, I could barely see it rising and falling, and he was breathing far too shallowly. I knew that the best thing would be to leave him alone, and as I stood back up I heard Reiley finish her conversation just as Gibbs came walking over. The old Marine fixed Reiley with his famous glare, and she squeaked.

“I-I just finished talking with the dispatcher sir- I-I mean Agent Gibbs.” I couldn’t help but to notice that it looked like she was about to faint. “They-they’re on their way, ETA um… two minutes.” Gibbs grunted and turned to me, leaving her looking very relieved.

“Boss, Tony’s still got a pulse, but it’s very rapid and his breathing’s shallow. He’s bleeding pretty badly, it looks like there’s a lot of glass embedded in his back, and he probably broke something as well. I don’t want to move him- I’m afraid that will make it worse.”

Gibbs swore in response. “Always have to go after the biggest guy, don’t ya DiNozzo?” he growled, but I could see the concern in his eyes. “We’ll have to wait for the paramedics. We can’t move him or the Ensign otherwise.” Cursing yet again, Gibbs pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open. After hitting a button, he put the speaker to his ear and waited for a few seconds.

“Ziver.”

I turned away, wishing that I could block out this conversation, but mentally kicking myself for being so weak. And yet, as Gibbs murmured the story to Ziva, I couldn’t help but to feel glad that I wasn’t the one having to relate the story to her. _How can you tell your coworker, your friend, your sister that her husband may be dead?_ And then, _what if it was Abby?_ My dark thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the howl of emergency sirens, and within seconds the dirty bar was flooded with police officers and paramedics, and, seeing that Gibbs was still on the phone and that Reiley was still looking unsure of what to do, I went over to them, explained the situation, and led them over to Tony and the Ensign. They immediately went to work, and it wasn’t long before Tony was lying on his side on a stretcher and was then loaded into the waiting ambulance. The Ensign’s wound was bound and he was loaded into another ambulance with a police escort. Gibbs snapped his phone shut, and I turned to look at him.

“We’re heading back to base. Reiley, you have the paperwork. McGee, get Abby and Ducky when we get there, we’ll meet Ziva at Bethesda. Let’s go!” he barked.

…..

Thirty minutes later Gibbs, Ducky, Abby and I were sitting around Ziva and the triplets in the all-too-familiar setting of Bethesda Naval Hospital’s emergency room. Ziva was sitting in between Gibbs and Ducky, covered in a nursing blanket, nursing Isaiah. Her face was completely emotionless, but from years of working with her, I knew that she only used her blank expression whenever she was trying to hide her fears, a fact exemplified by the fact that her eyes tracked every doctor and nurse who came scurrying out of the emergency room, silently begging them to be the one who would tell her about her husband’s condition. And every time they passed by us, I could see a defeated look flash through her eyes before she turned her gaze to the emergency doors yet again. Gibbs, on Ziva’s right side, held Kate in his experienced arms, letting her play with his fingers. His face, as always, was completely unreadable, but whenever he looked at Ziva, I could see fatherly concern cross his features. Occasionally he would trade glances with Ducky, who sat reading a medical magazine on Ziva’s left before returning his attention to Kate, who was just happy to have her adopted grandfather holding her.

Meanwhile, Abby sat between Gibbs and me, holding Tali, who was fast asleep, close to her chest. I could see that she was trying desperately not to cry, but I could also see that she was fighting a losing battle. As I watched, a lone tear snaked its way down her cheek. Not really knowing what else to do, I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and carefully pulled her close, making sure that I didn’t hurt Tali. To my complete surprise she rested her head on my shoulder and let the tears fall quietly. Tali, who was always good at picking up on emotions, woke up with a small whimper, stretching her tiny hands out to her aunt. Abby quickly dried her tears on my sleeve, leaving behind black mascara marks, and gently held up the infant, smiling a weak smile.

“Oh Tali, baby, it’s alright” she whispered. “Aunt Abby and Uncle Timmy are right here, sweetie. Everything’s going to be just fine, right Tim?” she asked, turning to me. I swallowed quickly, noticing that Ziva was watching us with a piercing gaze.

“Of course everything will be fine!” I said hastily. “Tony’s too tough to let anything happen to him.” I removed my arm from around Abby’s shoulder and gently took Tali from her arms. I unclipped my tie and placed it in her hands so that she could play with it. She immediately became enthralled with the piece of silk and ran her hands over it, eventually trying to put it in her mouth. I rescued my tie and bounced Tali a bit, watching my goddaughter’s face light up with joy. My heart went to my throat as I watched the little girl’s innocent face.

_Tony, you need to recover!_


	5. Tied by the Heart

_Ziva’s POV_

I immediately the moment Tony had been hurt.

Sitting at my desk, desperately trying to track down an elusive lead, I suddenly felt a bolt of pain fly down my back. Gasping, I sat upright, clutching at my back where the pain had started.

The feeling that something _bad_ had happened was so clear, so undeniable, that I started immediately packing, and was halfway there when Gibbs called to tell me what had happened. My heart pounding, adrenaline flooding my system, I left the building in record time.

_Tony!_

……

When I arrived at the emergency room of Bethesda Naval Hospital, I could not help but to think how all-too-familiar this place of anxiety and fear had become. Only a few months before, when I had still been pregnant with the triplets, I had waited here when Tony was shot by my jealous former Kidon commander, Officer Ben-Gidon. Tony had also endured this room twice when the crazed Melek Biram, sent by my father, had tried, and nearly succeed, to kill me twice.

Now I was once again sitting in one of the emergency room’s uncomfortable plastic chairs. Although I was surrounded by my NCIS family as well as my children, I felt more alone than ever. Soon after we had arrived in the emergency room Isaiah had started to fuss, so I put on a nursing blanket and fed him, glad for the small comfort that nursing my son provided. I was in utter shock, struggling to keep myself from breaking down, resorting to my old Mossad tactics to stay calm. But as the minutes wore on, I became more and more anxious until I felt like screaming, howling, doing anything, _anything,_ to make the fear leave. Just in time, a warm, maternal voice filled the air.

“Oh Ziva, I really had hoped that I wouldn’t have to see you here again.” Looking up, I met the gentle blue eyes and lined, yet kind face of Doctor Chris Jullman, the emergency room doctor who had saved my life twice the year before. Relief flooded through me- not only did I completely trust her, but her face was not that of someone who had bad news to share. As I stood to greet her, still holding Isaiah, I saw her eyes shine happily as she saw my children. She must have noticed the desperate look on my face, because she quickly answered my unasked question.

“Tony is fine, Ziva. His injuries were not nearly as severe as we had originally thought when he was brought in. Most of the glass shards that hit him were stopped by his jacket, and those that did make it through to his back didn’t go that deep and were fairly easy to retrieve. We were able to stitch up his wounds without difficulty, but he will have to take it easy for a while and sleep on his side for a few weeks. Tony also suffered a fractured left wrist and a sprained right one, as well as a minor concussion. All-in-all, it should be a few weeks before he can return to the field, but we will be able to release him very soon. He’s awake now, and he has been asking for you.” The rest of the team looked up, and Doctor Jullman eyed them with a sigh. “I suppose that nothing I say will make you follow the hospital policy of no more than two people in a room at a time?”

“YES.” The team chorused, causing the doctor to give another sigh.

“Alright, follow me. But please, I can only allow Ziva to stay longer 15 minutes.” Doctor Jullman turned and led us to an elevator. We rode it up to the second floor and were led to room 223A, Tony’s room. Gibbs suddenly stepped forward and motioned for Tim to take Isaiah from me, so that he was still holding Kate and Abby was holding Tali. Gibbs gave me a curt nod.

“Go see him Ziver. We’ll wait” he growled quietly. I thanked him quietly, and then cautiously entered the room.

 Tony was lying on his side, and the minute I crossed the threshold, his green eyes opened and found mine, his famous 100-watt smile lighting his tired face. Even though I knew that he not going to die, I couldn’t help but to feel immensely relieved, and ran over to his side, grasping his sprained wrist, causing him to grunt. Immediately I released his wrist, and he gently raised the injured limb to gently brush a lock of hair out of my face. He then wrapped his large fingers around my smaller ones.

“Oh Zi, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do this to you. I didn’t want to scare you” he murmured, love shining in his eyes. I felt a lone tear run down my face and raised a hand to brush it away, but Tony got there first. His index finger tenderly brushed the droplet away, and in that moment I felt that I could not love him more, and forgave him for everything. I let out a deep sigh, wrapping my fingers around his large, warm hand. His fingers bent around mine as I spoke.

“Ahava, I forgive you. I know that you were just trying to protect your partner, a partner that you had only known for a few hours. It is- difficult- to hear that your husband, the love of your life, may have been killed by a suspect.” Tony gave a soft sigh at that, but I could see his eyes gleaming with a quiet joke.

“You do know that I hit him, right? I mean, come on, it was a perfect elbow, right to the eye! I think your ninja skills are really rubbing off on me, Zi!” Tony smirked proudly when I scowled at him. Trust my husband to come up with a joke at a time like this!”

“You may have hit him Tony, but you did not follow up! You cannot stand around and admire your handiwork- that will only serve to get you injured or killed as you have just proven! A technique is useless if it does not stop your opponent, yes?” Finishing my rant, I stared in disbelief at Tony, who was shaking with suppressed laughter.

“Some things never change, Zi” he said with a grin. I was seriously contemplating a wrist grab when a familiar squeal split the air.

“Tonyyyyyyyyy!” Abby, now free of Tali, rushed over to Tony with her arms outstretched. Visions of ripped stitches flashed before my eyes and I stood to intercept her before she could tackle Tony. Fortunately Gibbs called out Abby’s name before she could reach us, and she stopped, looking bashful. She settled on giving Tony a light squeeze around his neck before she backed off and started to bounce up and down until McGee, who was still holding Isaiah, rested a calming hand on her shoulder. Ducky, who was now holding Tali, slid in behind Gibbs while shaking his head.

“Lacerations, fractures, sprains and a concussion? Anthony, my dear boy, you certainly are a medical mishap! Why, this reminds me of a time when an old college friend of mine was helping at a farm. He was baling hay, right at the top of the pile when… oh my!” Ducky was suddenly interrupted by Tali, who had just figured out that Tony was nearby. She let out a wail, stretching her arms to where her father was, causing Ducky to chuckle. The old Scotsman laid our daughter next to Tony, and she immediately calmed down and happily began to explore the strange new bed she had been placed in. Tony grinned, running a finger through Tali’s hair, wincing slightly at the movement.   

“Ya really messed that one up, DiNozzo” Gibbs said, lightly bouncing Kate. Tony looked downcast, and I opened my mouth to defend him. Before I could say a word, Gibbs stopped me. “But I know why you did it, so I’ll let it go. Just try not to freeze in the future.” Tony nodded, clearly abashed. I decided to change the subject.

“Gibbs, do you believe that it was Ensign Terranova who murdered the Lieutenant?” I asked. Before Gibbs could answer, Tony butted in.

“He was certainly violent enough. Give that man a couple of drinks, and he could have easily overpowered her” Tony snarled.

“He may have been very violent, Tony, but he was also very direct, very action-based. I do not know if he would have the cunning or the patience to take his wife prisoner and keep her out of sight until the baby came, especially if he was intoxicated. I would think that he would have just killed her outright, especially if he went into an alcohol- induced rage.” I replied tersely, uncomfortable at the thought.

“Only one way to find out” Gibbs growled.

“You going to go back and break him, Boss? Give him the ol’ Gibbs treatment?” Tony asked. Gibbs merely shook his head.

“Nah, I think I’ll let him stew for a while, get some of the alcohol out of his system. Don’t want to have any legal issues because he was drunk. Ziva, are you planning on staying with DiNozzo until he’s released?” I gave a curt nod, although I was completely confused at this point.

“After I return the triplets to the nursery, I was planning on staying here, yes.”

“Don’t bother, we’ll watch them at the base. When DiNozzo’s released, bring him back to your place and then come back to base.” I was now thoroughly confused.

“Gibbs, what…”

“Ziva, you’re going to interrogate Ensign Terranova.”  


	6. Mother Bear

_Tony’s POV_

My back burned with a dull ache, both wrists felt like they were on fire and my head was pounding, but when the doctor had finally, _finally_ , released me from that damned hospital, I had blatantly refused to go home. Instead I had begged, pleaded and cajoled with Ziva until she had finally relented (most likely because she didn’t want to put up with my pathetic pleas any longer) and had drove me to the Navy Yard. I had told her that I would still be able to do paperwork, and I just didn’t want to be knocking around the house by myself for the rest of the day- a statement that was only partially true.

In reality, I just couldn’t wait to see Ziva interrogate once again.

Don’t get me wrong- Ziva is a wonderful mother and has and always will put her family before her job, even going so far as (God forbid) putting her life on the line for us. But there had been several times throughout her pregnancy and after the triplet’s birth that I would catch her shooting a wistful glance at my NCIS jacket whenever she passed by it. Ziva may be first and foremost a mom, and I know she thoroughly enjoys that role, but there is always a part of her that longs for the challenge that our job offers. And now, for the first time in nearly a year, I was going to once again witness the maestro at work.

Once I was able to leave the bullpen without raising my wife’s suspicion, I moved as quickly as I could with my injuries and slipped into the observation room opposite the room that Ensign Terranova was currently being held in. As I gazed at the man who had tried to kill me, I noted with a good deal of satisfaction that he had a large and vivid bruise covering his eye. Although he looked much calmer than when I had seen him at the bar, I couldn’t help but to feel nervous about Ziva interrogating him as I eyed his monstrous bulk, and I had to remind myself that Ziva had once taken on a roomful of Marines and taken out most of them. Lost in my thoughts, I failed to hear the observation room door open, and I started when McGee’s sounded from behind me.

“I thought you were supposed be at your house Tony.”

“And miss Ziva’s first interrogation in ten months, especially with a guy who tried to kill me and may have killed his wife and kidnapped his baby? Yeah right?” Tim scoffed, but before he could reply, the interrogation room’s door slammed open, causing the Ensign to jump and me to smirk. Ziva strode in, her posture rigid, followed by Gibbs- the Ensign’s protection. _Can’t have a dead suspect_ I thought.

Gibbs took a seat in the corner as Ziva walked over to the chair facing Terranova. Before she could do anything, however, the Ensign stood up, looming over, an angry mask crossing his face, causing me to instinctively stiffen.

“You people have no right to keep me here this long, I didn’t do anything!” he bellowed, spittle forming in the corners of his mouth. “Now let me out right now, or so help me I’ll…”

“SIT DOWN!” Ziva barked, and the Ensign flinched, clearly surprised. “If you wish to be able to walk after this, then sit down!” The Ensign slowly sat back down, his expression wary. Ziva bent over the interrogation table, and I could imagine the look was giving Terranova. However, the fact that my wife was presenting me a very lovely view of her, er, _derrière_ , was taking up most of my attention. I was only just able to pay attention to Ziva’s conversation.

“Now that I have your attention, I am going to make several points clear. The first point: you assaulted a federal agent, therefore we are within full legal rights to hold you. The second point: The agent that you assaulted and tried to kill is not only my partner, but my _husband_ as well, and I would be more than happy to make you, how do you say it? _Pay back_ for what you did, yes? And the third point: I was trained by the Israeli Mossad, and I **will** cause you a great deal of pain if I think that you are even _thinking_ about attacking me. Do I make myself clear Ensign?” she growled, leaning in closer to him. He nodded frantically, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but near her at the moment. _Too bad_ I thought.

“Ziva’s really sharp today.” McGee remarked.

“Yeah, yeah, she certainly is…” I muttered distractedly, smiling at my view. Out of the corner of my eye I saw McGee flash me a horrified look.

“You are not seriously leering at Ziva’s rear end while she’s in interrogation!” He yelped. I just shrugged, not letting my eyes leave that view.

“Why not? I’m entitled to look- she is my wife after all. And besides,” I broke off to flash McGee a mischievous grin, “I’ve seen that part without clothes before.” I was immediately rewarded with the most horrified look I had ever seen crossing McGee’s face before he buried it in his hands with a groan. “What’s the matter Probie? Can’t handle the thought of a woman naked? That probably won’t go over well with Abby.”

“Actually Tony, it’s the thought of you naked that I can’t handle. This is going to scar me for life.”

I shot Tim a glare, although I was grinning inwardly at the fact that he hadn’t rebuked me when I mentioned Abby. “You’re lucky that my wrists are injured McGee, or I’d headslap you silly right now.” McGee rolled his eyes, but didn’t give me the satisfaction of a response, rather just turning back to the glass once again. I did the same, slightly disappointed to find that Ziva had sat down. I noticed that the Ensign was shrinking under Ziva’s fury- clearly there would be no more trouble. I tuned back into their conversation.

“It’s like I told the others ma’am.” I saw Ziva’s shoulders stiffen at the ‘ma’am’, but she said nothing. “I had no idea that Marcia had been mur-mur… The last time I saw her was two weeks ago, when she told me about the custody arrangements. I haven’t seen her since.” I noticed the Ensign’s eyes flick down and to the left, an indication that he was lying. Ziva saw it as well.

“Liar” she hissed. She leaned in, and Terranova leaned back as far as he could, flinching. “Listen to me Ensign. You are clearly violent and your former wife was not only filing for divorce, but she was also going to have full custody of your child as well. You still have full access to your house where your wife’s body was found. Do you understand what all of this means? It means that you had the means, motive and opportunity, and it is very likely that a jury will see it exactly in the same way. So, you can either tell me the truth, or you can continue to lie, and I will gladly charge you with murder and have you sent to prison. When did you last communicated with your wife!?” Ziva snarled. The Ensign was visibly trembling now, and his eyes were darting left and right.

“Alright!” he bellowed suddenly. “Alright! I called Marcia four days ago. I-I just wanted to talk things over with her, honest!”

“I am sure that your ‘talk’ was just that, yes?” Ziva asked coldly. Terranova dropped his head and mumbled an incomprehensive something.

“Speak up!” Ziva snapped.

“I m-might have said something that could have been taken as a threat, but I never meant anything by it, I swear! All I said to Marcia was that there was no way I was going to let her take my child away from me. I didn’t mean it as a threat- I just wanted her to know… I… I wanted the chance to be a dad!” The big, tough Ensign’s voice cracked, and he angrily wiped his eyes. Suddenly he looked up.

“Are you a mother ma’am?” I was completely caught off guard by this question, and from Ziva’s posture, I could see that she was as well. I glanced over to the corner of the room where Gibbs was sitting and saw his eyes narrow, but he remained where he was. Ziva took a few seconds before finally answering.

“I am. We have triplets- to girls and a boy.” At this, the Ensign’s lips curved up in the ghost of a smile.

“You’d do anything for your three, wouldn’t you? You’d protect them with your life if you had to- you wouldn’t let anything hurt them, ever. And you’d never, _never_ let anyone take them away from you, right?” he asked, his voice soft, pained. To my surprise Ziva’s shoulders sagged. She gave a small nod.

“Yes.”

“I feel the same way ma’am. I may have screwed up, big time, but I would _never_ do anything to harm Marcia or our child. I just want to be a father.” For the first time that day the Ensign looked Ziva in the eye, and I could see a lone tear running down his cheek. “I am sorry for what I did to your husband. Truly I am. I don’t know what came over me ma’am. I’m almost positive that I didn’t have more than three or four beers before your partners came to question me. All I know is that when I heard that my wife had died...” the huge man suddenly broke down. His huge shoulders shook as he buried his face in his hands. After a minute or two, Terranova was able to regain his composure. He looked at Ziva and spoke, his voice hoarse.

“You have to believe me ma’am. I’m not a violent guy. I may have made a huge mistake by cheating on my wife, but I wouldn’t hurt her or our baby. And I don’t know why I did what I did to your husband.”

Ziva sat rigidly in her chair for a few moments before she was able to speak. “When was the last time you were at you and your wife’s house Ensign?”

“I’ve been staying at a friend’s place ever since Marcia filed for full custody. She wouldn’t let me anywhere near the house after that.”

“We need the address, Ensign- we’ll need to talk to your friend. We need to confirm your statement.” The Ensign nodded and recited an address that Ziva wrote down. When she was finished, she looked back up at the Ensign. “Because you attacked my husband, you will be brought to jail. We will see if your statement is true.” The Ensign gave a tired nod.

“Ma’am?” Ziva looked back at him.

“Please find my baby. I know that things look bad for me, but I could never forgive myself if my child ended up dead.”

Ziva didn’t reply, but left the room quickly, and I got up and left observation. Out in the hallway, I saw Ziva leaning heavily on the wall, looking blankly into space. I touched her shoulder, and she started, wiping something from her eye.

“Tony” she choked. Swallowing once, she tried to give me a severe look. “You shouldn’t be here. You… Oh Tony, that baby…” Ziva buried her head in my chest and to the best of my ability I wrapped my bulky, cast-wrapped hands around her.

“Oh Zi.” I whispered back, pain filling my heart. 


	7. Inlaws

_Ziva’s POV_

I knew that Tony was not supposed to be in the observation room. I knew that he was supposed to be resting at his desk. However, at the moment, he was the one person that I needed the most. Words alone could not express the motherly pain I was feeling at Terranova’s words, so I just buried my head in his warm, strong chest and sobbed. Becoming a mother had exposed me to brand-new emotions and a new level of sensitivity, especially towards young children, feelings that were just as frightening to me as they were welcome. Sitting in the interrogation room for the first time in almost a year, listening to the Ensign’s heartfelt pleas, I found myself fighting a massive internal battle to keep the composure that had been so easy for me to keep six years ago. Right now I wanted nothing more than to be able to go home and be with my family and leave this whole painful affair behind.

But that was not possible, and I slowly calmed down as Tony murmured encouraging words in my ear while gently, abet awkwardly, rubbing my back with his casted wrists. As I listened to my husband’s deep voice, I could hear the slightest hint of a chocked note and I realized that I was not the only one who was struggling to hide how affected I was by this case. Suddenly I heard the interrogation room door open and as I pulled myself away from Tony, Gibbs walked out. I knew that he could easily see that I had been badly shaken by what had happened, and I made no effort to hide it. As far as I was concerned at the time, this emotional pain was his fault. If he had not ordered Tony to bring me, I would not have had to go through this. Part of me knew that I was not thinking rationally, but at the time I did not care. As Gibb’s gaze fell on me, I saw a flicker of sadness cross his blue eyes and his head dropped slightly. He opened his mouth to speak, but just then his phone rang and he quickly answered. The conversation on the other line was brief. Gibbs nodded.

“Yeah Abs, we’ll be right down.” He flipped his phone shut and turned to face Tony, McGee (who had just walked out) and myself. “Abby’s got something for us. Let’s go.” Without waiting for a reply, he passed us, heading towards Abby’s lab. As he passed me, he reached out a hand and gently squeezed my shoulder. It was his way of apologizing, and although I still remained slightly upset, I was able to let most of my anger go and followed him into Abby’s lab. As soon as we were in the lab, and had adjusted to the pounding waves of music, Gibbs called out to the dark-haired scientist who was bouncing around in time to the beat.

“Whaddya got Abs?”

Abby spun around to face us, an excited look spread across her face. However, when she saw Tony and me, her face darkened and she marched up to me. Instinctively I glanced around the room for anything that might serve as a weapon to defend myself with. Seconds later Abby’s finger was inches away from my face, and she was glaring at me.

“Tony is supposed to be _resting_ Ziva, not tromping around the building!” Idly my brain wondered what “tromping” was, but my thoughts were interrupted by Abby. “He could rip his stitches! Why didn’t you take him home?!?” Tony quickly came to my defense.

“Abs, take it easy on Zi, it’s my fault. I kept bugging Ziva until she let me stay here. After all, what would you do without my DiNozzo charm- ow!” Gibbs promptly smacked the back of Tony’s head, and Tony rubbed it gingerly. “I’m injure- shutting up Boss.” Gibbs gave Tony one last glare before turning back to Abby, who was looking much happier now that she had some entertainment. When she didn’t say anything, Gibbs gave her a raised eyebrow.

“Well? Are you going to make me stand around all day?” Abby jumped at this and then scurried over to her keyboard and began to rapidly type.

“I went through the evidence from the case and there was a hair caught up in the rope used to tie the Lieutenant’s wrists.” Abby put a magnified image of a hair on one half of the screen, and samples of DNA on the other half came up as well. “I ran the hair against the samples that we had, and it didn’t match to the Lieutenant’s DNA and the Ensign’s DNA, and there wasn’t a match. However, it had a 73% match to the Ensign.” Abby looked up expectantly from the screen. “Doesn’t that remind you of another case, Gibbs?”

Before Gibbs could respond, Tony cut in. “That case with the Petty Officer and her club dancer sister- I remember that one!” Gibbs and McGee nodded in consent, but I remained confused.

“What case is this?” I asked. Tony gave me an admonishing look, but I glared at him and realization spread across his face.

“Oh, wait, that was in Kate’s time. This guy woke up with a dead Petty Officer whose sister was a dancer in a night club. We kept finding this DNA at the crime scene, but there was no match to anything in AFIS, but had a 70% match to the Petty Officer. Turns out the dancer sister killed the Petty Officer out of jealousy.” Tony nodded towards the screen.

“Not the Ensign, but a sibling…” I murmured. McGee’s face lit up, and he rushed to an open keyboard, speaking as he typed.

“Boss, I remembered something from the Ensign’s personal file- he does have an older sister. I didn’t think it was relevant at the time, but…” McGee replaced the monitor’s images with a DMV photo of a woman in her mid-thirties that looked very similar to the Ensign. “Her name is Raquel Marson. She’s single, recently divorced, with no children, and lives only five miles from the Terranova home. She’s an EMT for Portsmouth Naval Hospital, so she would know how to deliver a baby in an emergency situation…”

“Or after she had tied up her sister-in-law and forced her to have a baby in the house” I finished grimly.

“That’s not all I found, Gibbs!” Abby burst in excitedly. “I analyzed the blood sample from the Ensign and found out that there wasn’t that much alcohol in his system, and definitely not enough to make him that aggressive. However, I did find traces of a drug in his blood, and it looks like it was slipped in his drink. Someone’s trying to set him up, Gibbs.”

“We need to talk to the Ensign.” Gibbs growled.

…..

Back in the observation room, I noticed that beads of sweat were once again forming on the Ensign’s brow and running down his temples. His eyes were nervously flicking between Gibbs and me, and as soon as I was seated across from him, he began to stammer.

“I-I-I’ve told you everything I know, Agent David, honest! There’s nothing else!” I locked my gaze on the Ensign, and he quieted down quickly.

“Do you have any siblings, Ensign?”

“Yeah, an older sister. Why? What does that have to do with anything?”

I ignored the question. “Just answer my questions, Ensign. What is she like?”

The Ensign gave a quick shrug. “She’s a good woman, a good sister- we’re really close. When I told her that Marcia was pregnant, she was ecstatic. Raquel isn’t able to have her own children- she’s infertile. That’s why her bastard of an ex-husband divorced her. She’s been real close to Marcia and me ever since that, and she got real mad when Marcia filed for divorce and full custody. She kept calling Marcia to try and get her to change her mind, I think she was really looking forward to being an aunt.” The Ensign was clearly confused, but before he could ask another question, I stopped him.

“What does your sister do, Ensign?”

“She’s an EMT for Portsmouth, but she’s been really working hard to become an obstetrician. She’s nearly done with school now.” I could clearly hear the note of pride in the Ensign’s voice, and I immediately felt bad. But there was nothing I could do for the situation, so I thanked Terranova and left with Gibbs. As I closed the interrogation room door behind me, I heard Gibb’s cell phone go off. He pulled it out and flipped it open.

“Gibbs.” There was a pause, and I faintly heard McGee’s voice from the tiny speaker.

“Didn’t think so. Terranova confirmed that Marson has the training and motive.” Pause. “Yeah, send out a BOLO for her.” Gibbs clicked his phone shut and turned towards me.

“McGee called Marson’s superior. The superior confirmed that Marson hasn’t been seen at work for over a week. McGee put out a BOLO, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

…..

Two hours of frustrating dead ends later, we were all working quietly at our desks when McGee’s phone suddenly rang. He answered it, and as I watched, the color slowly drained from his face. He mumbled a curt “thanks” into the receiver and then slowly replaced it on its cradle. We all stared at him, and I felt a slow feeling of dread fill my stomach.

“Boss” McGee said quietly. “We have a hit on our BOLO. Local LEOs saw a woman fitting Raquel’s description entering a car with the same make and model of the one she drives carrying a bundle. When they drove up to her, she took off and they chased her into an abandoned warehouse.” McGee took a shaky breath.

“The baby’s alive, but Marson has a gun to it and is threatening to kill it.” 


	8. Rescue

_Gibb’s POV_

When you’ve been an agent as long as I have, you always think that nothing can surprise you- you’ve seen and heard everything. And then, inevitably, something like the announcement that McGee made comes along. When I heard that Marson had a gun to her newborn niece’s head, a sickening feeling developed in my gut. Then I heard the sound of drawers opening and looked up to see DiNozzo and David pulling their service weapons out.

“Where do you two think you’re going?” I asked, although I already knew the answer.

“I am coming with you Gibbs. You will be one agent short without Tony” Ziva replied calmly, holstering her SIG and swinging her backpack over her shoulder.

“I don’t know what land you’re in right now, Zi, but it’s obviously not this one. I’m not staying behind, and besides, you’re still recovering from your C-section. You can’t go!”

Ziva marched up to Tony, glaring at him. “You are not going anywhere Anthony DiNozzo! You just came out of surgery from being thrown into a wall of glass bottles! You are in no condition to be here, let alone go out into the field!”

Tony angrily opened his mouth to retaliate, but before he could, I came up to the couple and smacked both of them on the backs of their heads. They both winced, and I took advantage of the interruption to speak.

“ **Neither** of you are going to come with McGee and me. There are enough LEOs there to help us if things go south.” Tony looked downcast at these words, but it was Ziva who looked absolutely devastated. As I looked at her pained face, I couldn’t help but to feel sorry for her- being a mother herself meant that she was very deeply affected by this horrible mess. I placed my hand on my adopted daughter’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

“Just this once, Ziver. I know it’s hard, but I can’t let you go in the field yet. Bring the triplets here- you should be spending more time with them.” Ziva nodded, but it was easy to see her reluctance. Thankfully she and Tony sat down at their desks again. Motioning to McGee, I grabbed my coffee and headed out, not looking back.   

……

Ten minutes later McGee and I pulled up to the warehouse where Marson was holding her niece hostage, surrounded by dozens of police cars. I flashed my badge at the officer standing by the main door and he quickly filled me in.

“About 20 minutes ago, one of our officers on patrol got your BOLO and saw Marson carrying a bundle into her car. When he went up to talk to her, she slammed the door and took off. The officer called for backup, and when they got back on Marson’s trail, she led them here. She won’t let anyone get near her, and is demanding that we let her go without pursuing her. I’m no doctor, and I didn’t get a good look at the baby, but you can hear it crying and it seems healthy enough.” I nodded, and then turned to McGee.

“Take the back. I’m going to talk to her.” McGee looked uncertain, but he nodded once, pulled out his gun, and started towards the back. The officer opened his mouth to speak, but I brushed past him and entered the dark building.

It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the gloom, but once they did, I wished they hadn’t. The situation was bad- Marson stood near the center of the building where she could see both entrances, and her back was against a pillar. She was hugging a small baby to her chest, but the motherly gesture was darkened by the muzzle of an ugly-looking gun held mere millimeters from the infant’s tiny skull. Even from where I was I could see that Marson’s hands were shaking, and I knew that it wouldn’t take much to spook her and cause her to reflexively pull the trigger. I had to be careful.

As soon as she heard my footsteps, Marson, whose attention up until then had been solely focused on a small group of officers blocking a garage door, swung to me. I could see her face had once been very beautiful, but now it was haggard and drawn, as if she hadn’t gotten much sleep. Her bloodshot eyes showed an animalist terror, and it took everything I had to not pull my gun.

“Don’t come any closer! Who are you?” she barked. A clear note of desperation filled her voice. I slowly pulled out my badge, keeping my free hand away from my body, and flipped it open. Marson flinched, but to my immense relief the gun didn’t go off.

“I’m Special Agent Gibbs from NCIS. Mind if I come a little closer? I just want to see how the baby is doing” I said, trying to keep my tone conversational. Marson didn’t go for it, and jerked the gun, causing me to freeze.

“STAY WHERE YOU ARE!” she roared, causing the infant to cry. “She’s alright, unless one of you does something stupid!” Marson jiggled the baby to calm her down, but her eyes showed me that she wasn’t bluffing. I slowly raised my hands to show that I was complying.

“Alright Raquel, no one’s going to come any closer. That’s Lieutenant Terranova’s baby, right?” I asked gently, hoping that those words would cause her to open up. Marson’s face twisted into a sneer.

“Not anymore” she snarled. “Marica’s dead. It’s her own fault, you know. If she had followed common sense and stayed with my stupid brother, she might still be alive right now. But my idiot brother had a ‘fling’, and Marica couldn’t handle it.”

“You were close to your brother, weren’t you?” One of the officers coughed, and Marson spun around. I took advantage of the distraction to take two steps forward, freezing when Marson swung back towards me. Luckily, she didn’t seem to notice anything.

 “Only because he was my one chance to have a child, my one chance to feel needed. My ex couldn’t stand me- I’m infertile. What good is a woman who can’t have a child? So when Matthew told me that his wife was pregnant, I was ecstatic. It was my one chance to be close to a mother. But then that little bitch ruined everything! I had to take matters into my own hands.” Marson’s closed her eyes in rage, and I took another step forward.

“How?” I asked.

Marson shrugged. “It was easy. I waited until I knew Matthew would be gone. He may have cheated on Marcia, but that pathetic idiot still loved her, and I couldn’t do anything while he was there. Then I just rang the doorbell and overpowered Marcia, tied her up, and gave her a drug to force her into labor. Of course, it took a while, and I did have to kill her afterwards, but I got my baby.” Marica’s sickening croon filled me with dread. “Of course, I couldn’t take the blame, so I had to dump it on someone. Who better than my little brother? Matthew’s a big guy, but he’s not aggressive. So, I arranged to have his drink drugged.” A smug smile crossed Marson’s face and my gut twisted. I couldn’t take it anymore.

“You brutally murdered your sister-in-law, kidnapped your newborn niece and drugged your brother?” Marson’s face darkened at this.

“You don’t know what it’s like! You don’t know the pain of not being able to have a child of your own, to have your spouse leave you! I am nothing, **nothing** , without a child!” Marson’s chest was heaving, and I realized that she was dangerously close to pulling the trigger. There was no time to lose.

“Now!” I roared. McGee, who up until now had been steadily creeping into the building behind Marson, leapt forward and pulled the surprised woman’s gun hand upwards. The gun fired harmlessly into the air, causing the baby to scream in fear. Meanwhile, I rushed forwards and grabbing the infant from Marson’s loosening grip, causing her to scream in fury. She wrenched the gun from McGee’s grasp and I heard the gun go off a second time. McGee grasped at his arm, blood oozing between his fingers. Marson swung around and leveled the gun at me, but the LEOs were faster. Four shots filled the air and the crazed woman’s body seemed to crumple in slow motion, her eyes rolling back into her head. She hit the ground, a pool of blood slowly spreading on the ground below her.

I wasted no time going over to McGee, whose gunshot wound was being examined by a paramedic who had just arrived on site. To my immense relief the paramedic announced that it was little more than a muscle wound that would only require a quick stitch-up at the hospital. As McGee was loaded into the ambulance and taken off to the hospital, the paramedic did a quick check-up of the squalling baby girl and said that other than being frightened and hungry, the baby was fine. I rocked the little one in my arms until she fell asleep and let out a deep sigh.

“Let’s go home.” 


	9. Tiny Hands Hold Us

_Tony’s POV_

Once Gibbs and McGee had left, Abby, who had come to the bullpen moments after their departure, met up with Ziva. The two women wasted no time in gathering their belongings to go get the triplets. I chose to stay- my back was starting to hurt, although I would never have admitted that to them. Instead, I told the two that I would stay behind to “man the bullpen”. Of course, I knew that neither of the two believed me in the slightest, a fact that was proven when Ziva opened the top drawer of her desk and tossed over a bottle of painkillers while rolling her eyes. She said nothing, however, to my immense relief, and instead turned and left with Abby.

A little while later the elevator doors gave their characteristic ‘ding’ and opened to reveal my wife and Abby carrying the three. Abby was carrying Tali, who was very happily chewing on one of her godmother’s pigtails while Ziva carried both Isaiah and Kate, both of whom were fast asleep. As soon as I saw my children, I felt the stress and pain of the case melt away as if by magic. I carefully got up and went over to Abby to rescue her pigtail from Tali.

“Hey there Tali-girl,” I chuckled as I pulled Abby’s pigtail out of the infant’s mouth. “Leave some of that pigtail for your godmother sweetie.” At the sound of my voice, my daughter gave a happy squeak and reached towards me, her grey eyes sparkling. Because of my injuries, I could only run the fingers of my sprained hand through her peach-fuzz hair, while whishing that I could hold her. When I failed to pick her up, Tail’s face fell and she opened her mouth and let out a terrific bawl. Abby began to bounce Tali while cooing at her, clearly trying to keep her from waking her siblings, but it was no use. I looked around the room desperately for something to keep Tali amused, and then saw my chair. An idea struck me, and I sat down, motioning for Abby to place Tali on my lap. As soon as Tali realized where she was, her angry cries turned into happy gurgles as she began to search for something interesting to play with. As I carefully wrapped my arm around my daughter and my cast brushed against her outstretched hands, she immediately became enthralled and did what any baby would do- she tried to chew on it.

As I extracted Tali from my cast, chuckling the whole time, and gave her a pacifier, I looked up and my eyes fell on Ziva, who was snuggling Kate. Zi had let down her hair a little while ago, and now it cascaded around her neck and shoulders. Her liquid brown eyes were gentle and full of love as she watched Kate sleep. She tenderly lifted a hand and brushed across our daughter’s cheek. _Gorgeous_ I thought.

“They’re beautiful ma’am, sir” a deep voice said. I looked up sharply as Ziva did the same. Ensign Terranova stood meekly at the back end of the bullpen, his eyes downcast, huge hands clasped together. Abby, who had not seen the huge man before now, leapt backwards, clutching Isaiah protectively to her chest. Even though I had seen the better side of the Ensign, I too brought Tali closer to me. Ziva, on the other hand, simply looked up at the man and smiled.

“Thank you Ensign.” As Matthew looked up, Ziva locked eyes with him and in the growing silence I noticed something in those depths that I hadn’t noticed before- a soft, gently, fatherly look. With a start I realized that I was seeing the true Ensign- not the crazed, aggressive berserker, but instead a kind, caring man, at least where children were concerned. Ziva, who had realized this well before I had, got up and without a word, made as if to place Kate in the Ensign’s arms. He immediately backed up, a wary look crossing his face.

“Ma’am, I haven’t… I’ve never…” Ziva cut him off.

“It is never too late to learn, yes? Here…” Ziva helped Matthew place his arms in the proper position, and then placed the now-awake Kate in those huge arms. At first the Ensign was very clearly apprehensive, but as Kate began to settle happily into his arms, he visibly relaxed and a smile crossed his haggard face. Kate, who always loved to be the center of attention, began to blow raspberries in a very contended manner, causing Matthew to chuckle and free a hand so that Kate could grasp his finger, which she very happily did. As I watched the pair, I realized that I was beginning to forgive the Ensign- this truly was a changed man that stood before me.

As soon as Matthew became comfortable with Kate, the ice between us broke, and he took a seat and began to talk about his life. He told us that he had come from a low-income family and had joined the Navy straight out of high school in order to pay for college. He, like his wife, spent several years in Iraq before starting a career at JAG, a decision that he credited by the Navy.

As the minutes passed by, the conversation became more and more forced. Eventually all talking ground to a halt as four pairs of eyes watched the continuously silent phones. Just as I was about to ask Ziva to try and reach Gibbs, the elevator doors ‘dinged’ open and Gibbs and McGee staggered out.

I was completely shocked by their appearances. Gibb’s face was dirt-and-blood-streaked, and his expression reminded me of the one he had on after he was forced to shoot Agent Lee- like he had aged several years in the space of a few short hours. McGee looked to be even worse off. Not only was he dirty and haggard, but his face showed a great deal of pain and his left arm was in a sling. The only happy-looking person in the group was the tiny baby girl, who was thankfully alive and very well-looking. She cooed and gurgled at our triplets, who cooed and gurgled back, and her black eyes danced with joy. She was clearly unfazed by what had happened earlier.

As soon as the ragged group cleared the doorway, Abby and the Ensign, who had both handed our son and daughter to Ziva at the same time, rushed over to the two agents. While Abby hugged McGee like she would never let go, Matthew reverently took his daughter in his strong arms for the first time. As father and daughter finally met, I could feel my eyes start to mist up and quickly wiped them with my sprained arm, earning a small smile from Ziva, who was crying openly. Tears too were running down Matthew’s face as he cradled his daughter to his chest. A thought suddenly occurred to me.

“What’s her name?”

Matthew looked up at me. “Kelly” he rasped without hesitation.

“Her name is Kelly.”


	10. Shock

_Ziva’s POV_

A month after the Terranova case I was reading in our small loft library after an extremely long day of chasing after dead-end leads. As I read, I could not help but to reflect back on the previous month’s events. The Terranova case had actually ended fairly well, especially considering the volatile circumstances that had gone along with it. After only a few days of deliberation, all charges against the Ensign were dropped, and the full custody of Kelly was awarded to a very grateful Matthew. A few days later, a letter appeared on Gibb’s desk. Inside the letter there was a note and a picture. The note, from the Ensign, said that Kelly had thankfully suffered no ill effects from her awful ordeal and had completely captured the heart of her daddy. This statement was confirmed by the photograph, which showed a joyful Ensign playing the “airplane” game with little Kelly, whose face was lit up with joy. When Gibbs picked up the photograph, I noticed a single tear roll midway down his cheek before he hastily brushed it away. A day later the picture re-appeared at Gibb’s desk, framed, and next to the picture of Gibbs, Shannon and _his_ Kelly.

The case was a happy ending that was all-too-soon to become a distant memory. Only a week after the end of the Terranova case Tony and I came back as full-time agents once again. Although they didn’t say anything, I could tell that Gibbs and McGee were glad that we were back. (“Agent” Reiley had resigned shortly their encounter with the drugged Ensign, and had gone on to a job as a secretary in the Pentagon.) However, our return was not without its consequences. New cases with vicious murders arose, and just that day we had been running into dead ends with a case involving a brutally raped and murdered female Private. By the end of the long day I felt that I had no energy, physically, mentally or emotionally, left, and I was not even able to summon up the energy to tease Tony about his slow driving.

I methodically went through the feeding and changing the triplets while Tony made dinner. The two of us ate in exhausted silence, washed the dishes, and then while Tony flipped on a movie, I gratefully went upstairs for a few relaxing minutes for reading.

As I sat, absorbed in my book, I felt something cold brush my hand and yelped. Looking down, I saw Engel, who had a small, blue, rubber squeaky bear in his mouth. He looked back at me with shining brown eyes and furiously squeaked the bear, tail wagging madly. I could not help but to laugh at his enthusiasm and reached out to take the toy. As soon as he saw my hand, however, Engel ducked away, and bounded back a short distance before dropping into a play bow, continuing to squeak the toy. I knew that he would keep up the ducking for a while, and even if I did grab the toy he would turn it into a game of tug-of-war, so I did the only thing that would make him drop the toy- I picked up my book and pretended to ignore him. Sure enough, Engel gave the toy a few more defiant squeaks before shoving it into my lap and giving a quick bark.

I quickly grabbed the bear before he could re-claim it, and Engel bounded over to the top of the stairs, looking expectantly back at me. I smiled, knowing exactly what he wanted- Engel loved to chase his toys down the stairs. I gave the toy a few squeaks of my own before sending it bouncing down the stairs, laughing when the one-year-old dog went tearing down the stairs, paws flying. At the bottom, Engel pounced on the toy triumphantly, squeaked it, and then hurtled back up to the top of the stairs, tail flying. As I pried the bear from Engel’s jaws and threw it yet again, I felt my tense muscles relax for the first time that day.

At about the fifth throw, while Engel was still at the bottom of the stairs, he suddenly froze and dropped the toy. He stared out the window, ears up and body stiff. I knew that this meant that someone was coming up to the door, and I was halfway down the stairs when a shape filled the front window and the doorbell rang. Engel gave a few deep barks as I came up to the door, and Tony came into the entryway. I opened the door, revealing a very distraught Abby. Tears and ruined mascara ran down her cheeks, and her clothes and hair were a mess. Without any preamble, she collapsed into my arms, sobbing.

“Abby!” I cried in surprise. Frantically, I struggled to hold her up, restrain an enthusiastic Engel and close the front door all at the same time. Fortunately Tony, who looked as frightened as I was, grabbed Engel and pulled him back and then he shut the door. He then helped me lead Abby over to our family room couch and sit her down. Tony quickly shut a protesting Engel in his kennel and returned with a box of tissues.

“Abby, what is the matter? Did someone hurt you? Is someone hurt?” I asked gently, keeping an arm around her shoulders. Abby shook her head, and took a few steadying breaths until she was composed enough to speak.

“I-I-I just came back f-from T-Tim’s…” she whispered. I was confused, not sure how that was a bad thing. Were they not friends?

“I-I just wanted to talk to him and… and… oh Ziva!” Abby broke down, and I held her, wishing desperately that she would tell me what the matter was.

“Abby,” I whispered, “I need you to tell me what is wrong. I cannot help you otherwise. Please Abby, try to tell me what is going on.” Abby gulped, and her next words caused Tony and me to stiffen.

“I-I’m, oh God Ziva, I’m pregnant!”


	11. Mistake

_Tony’s POV_

**_Two days earlier:_ **

_I was taking a quick break from yet another difficult case. I stood in front of the stubborn vending machine, cursing as it spat out my only dollar bill out over and over again, and out of the corner of my eye I saw McGee come in. Muttering obscenities under my breath, I tried, unsuccessfully, to shove the crumpled bill yet again into the slot._

_“Come on you damn machine!” I yelled as it spat out the bill. “I just want a freakin’ chocolate bar!” I was just about give the machine a well-deserved kick when McGee came up to me, pulled out a fresh dollar bill, and slid it in. He punched in the alphanumeric sequence and handed me the chocolate bar before sliding in another dollar and retrieving a Nutter Butter. As he unwrapped his food, I looked over at him, perplexed._

_“Trying to butter up your senior field agent, McGenerous?” I asked. At first McGee didn’t say anything, seemingly engrossed with the scene outside the break room window. Finally he spoke, but his words caught me completely off guard._

_“How-how did you know Ziva was the one?”_

_For a few seconds I could only stare at him._

_“Wait- what?”_

_Tim fumbled with his wrapper. “You asked Ziva to marry you. How did you know she was right for you?”_

_At first I was completely taken aback by the question, but as it made its way into my head, I started to really think about it, and a sudden memory came up._

“Tony, what are you doing here?”

“Couldn’t live without you, I guess.”

_“I can’t live without her.” The words tumbled out of my mouth, starting a flood. “She’s everything to me, McGee. She got shot, and that’s when I knew it- I just couldn’t lose her.”I re-focused on Tim, who was staring at me with a slightly creepy intensity. Being a male, it took me a few seconds for everything to click, but then I realized what he was **really** asking me._

_“It’s Abby, isn’t it?” I asked quietly. He just nodded, looking down at the floor. I rested a hand on his shoulder, and he looked back at me. “Look Tim, I’m going to tell you what Gibbs told me- I cannot tell you what’s right or wrong, that’s for you to decide. But I can tell you this- go for it. If she’s the one, you will know, and you have to go for it.”_

_Tim smiled crookedly. “Thanks for being honest with me Tony. One more thing- this doesn’t leave this room.”_

_“My lips are sealed, McRomeo.”_

**_Present Time_ **

When Abby told us that she was pregnant, the conversation of two days earlier immediately flashed through my mind, and it took all of my willpower not to get into the car and race over to McGee’s apartment to throttle him. Taking a few calming breaths, I looked up and locked eyes with Ziva. She gave me the tiniest of nods before her complete attention went back to the sobbing Abby. Knowing full well that Ziva would be able to calm the distraught Goth better than I ever could, I went over to the phone to call McGee. Before I could even reach out, however, the phone gave a shrill ring, the caller I.D. flashing McGee’s name. I quickly snatched the phone off of its cradle and savagely punched the ‘talk’ button.

“Tim, why in the _hell_ is Abby sitting on our family room couch crying her eyes out!?” I growled, trying my best to keep my volume low enough so that Abby couldn’t hear me, but my tone menacing enough to make my anger clear. However, McGee’s tone quickly dissipated the anger.

“She is at your place? _Thank God._ Is she safe? God Tony, I made a huge mistake!” In the background I could hear the blare of car horns, and I idly wondered how many traffic laws Tim had just broken. “I’ve been trying to call her, but her phone’s turned off, I can’t even trace it. Oh man, I messed up Tony, I messed up big time! I was- oh go to hell you motherfu…” Hearing the drawn-out blare of a car horn, I decided right now was not a good time for Tim to be talking on the phone.

“McGee, as much as I want an explanation, I really don’t feel like scraping your remains into a body bag. Look, just get over here and we’ll talk, okay? Ziva and I will make sure Abby stays here.” I grunted. McGee sighed.

“Alright, I’ll be there in ten.” The phone clicked off, and I hung our phone back up before returning to the couch where my wife and Abby were seated. I noticed with some relief that Abby’s tears had slowed and her heaving sobs had been reduced to quiet sniffles. Ziva had her arms wrapped around her and she was whispering softly in Abby’s ear. I motioned to her, and after reassuring Abby that she’d be right back, she came over to me. I lowered my head and my voice so that Abby wouldn’t overhear us.

“McGee’s on his way over. I’m going to try to get his side of the story if you can get Abby’s. I’m going to keep him outside.” I murmured. Ziva nodded, and then returned to Abby’s side. Knowing that she would keep Abby calm, I went outside and shut the front door behind me. Soon enough I saw the headlights of McGee’s car pull into our driveway and stepped off the porch. As Tim left his car and approached, I saw a desperate look in his eyes and hoped that I wouldn’t have to bring Ziva out to help me restrain him.

“Where the hell is she Tony? I need to see her!” McGee panted. I just managed to grab him as he tried to rush past me.

“McGee.” I grunted as I tried to push him back. When he didn’t respond, I smacked him on the back of his head, hard. “Tim, knock it off! You’re not going anywhere! Abby is safe, she’s with Ziva, and _you_ have a lot of explaining to do.” McGee relaxed somewhat, and I led him over to one of our porch chairs and motioned for him to sit down. Once he had, I sat in the one next to him, looking him straight in the eye.

“Alright Tim, what happened? And start at the very beginning.” I growled. Tim broke eye contact, shifted, and then finally spoke.

“Abby and I have been see- alright, _dating_ each other around when the triplets were born- when we became godparents. It just seem, so, I don’t know, _right_ I guess.” Tim paused, clearly unsure of what to say next. I watched him fiddle with his car keys, but didn’t say a word. My patience soon paid off.

“I guess it was the Terranova case that- that really set things off. When I got shot while we were apprehending the Ensign’s sister, Abby took me home with her and things got- we had sex” Tim finished flatly. I briefly toyed with the idea of teasing him, but decided that doing that wouldn’t help the situation much. Tim flipped his keys, caught them, and then continued. “It all happened so fast, so sudden, and neither of us thought much about the consequences. And when I talked to you two days ago, I was serious. You made me realized that I _can’t_ lose Abby. But I screwed up, and I am going to lose her!” Tim buried his face in his hands, and I carefully rested my hand on his shoulder.

“What exactly happened when you found out?” I asked quietly, causing Tim to raise his head.

“She came over to my apartment today after work and I made us dinner. Abby was really quiet, and I kept asking her if anything was wrong, but she kept telling me she was fine. It wasn’t until we were watching a movie…”

“Which one?” I asked. Catching Tim’s glare, I grimaced. “Wrong time, huh?” Tim didn’t say anything, but continued on with his story.

“Anyway, it wasn’t until we were watching the movie that she looks up at me with those gorgeous eyes and just asked, ‘Tim, what would you think of having kids?’ I thought she was joking of course, and I said that I’d like it, and thought that that was that, but she paused the movie and said ‘Tim, I’m pregnant’. Just like that.” McGee ran a hand through his hair with a groan. “And God help me, I just sat there like a slack-jawed idiot! I didn’t say anything, I just stared at her like she was a-a-a _freak!_ ” McGee spat the word out like it had a bad taste. He then leaned forward and spoke in a more subdued voice.

“That’s when she teared up and took off. She just grabbed her keys and ran out the door without a word. And I just sat there Tony! I just sat there, doing absolutely nothing! My girlfriend needed me, and I just sat there! When reality finally hit me, I tried to call Abby, but her phone was turned off, so I tried to trace it, but couldn’t. So I just kept calling until I realized that I should try to call you and Ziva or Gibbs. And so I called you and, and that’s it, I guess.” Tim’s whole body sagged at that, and I felt sorry for him. But I also knew that he had to be able to solve his own problems as well.

“So now what?” I asked. Tim looked up at me, confusion and a little bit of aggression evident in his eyes. But I refused to back down. “What are you going to do Tim? Are you going to help her, or are you going to leave her?” Tim’s eyes flashed dangerously at the last suggestion.

“NO! I’m NOT going to leave Abby! What the hell are you thinking DiNozzo!? _I. Love. Her._ She is everything to me, Tony, everything! She’s funny, sweet, intelligent, gorgeous and now she’s carrying our child, and I can’t think of anything more amazing than that! Now, if you’re not going to open the door, I’m going to bust it in myself because I _have_ to talk to Abby!”

Before I could say a word, however, a familiar voice spoke softly.

“No Tim, you don’t have to say a word.”

Both of us immediately spun around. Ziva and Abby were standing at the now- open door, which we had had our backs to. I wondered how long they had been listening in, but the look on Ziva’s face said that they had heard enough. Ziva gave me a raised eyebrow, and I quickly got up, offering my chair to the quiet Abby. She and Tim needed to talk.

Ziva and I went back inside, and she quietly re-told Abby’s version of the story, which for the most part confirmed Tim’s version, with a few differences. As we were talking, we heard a shriek come from outside, and we both rushed out to see if everything was okay. What we saw made us smile.

Tim was holding Abby’s hand in both of his large ones and an engagement ring shone brilliantly on Abby’s forth finger.   

 


	12. Time Together

_Ziva’s POV_

It was a beautiful Sunday evening, nearly a month after Tim had proposed to Abby. The setting sun was sending gold spears of light throughout our household. Tony and I just had finished dinner and we were now enjoying a relaxed evening with the triplets, now three months old. Kate, Tali and Isaiah were all in what Tony had named “monkey mode”- one of the few intermittent hours of the day where they were wide awake and alert. Unfortunately they usually reserved this state for late at night or early morning, and experience had quickly taught us that nothing that we did would make them go to sleep until they felt like sleeping.

Today, however, it was only 5:30, and all three of our children where lying on a large fleece blanket in the middle of the family room floor, squirming happily while I sat on the floor next to them. Isaiah was gurgling as he tried to catch the dust motes above his head, his tiny face scrunched up in concentration. Tali was seemingly carrying on a running conversation with the sunbeam that she was lying in, cooing and babbling with a huge smile on her face. Kate was content to simply stick her feet in her mouth. However, the minute Engel came over, collar jingling merrily, all three immediately tried to reach for him, babbling as they invited the one-year-old shepherd to play with them. Engel retreated a good distance away, curling up in a sunbeam to keep out of the reach of the triplets’ pulling fingers, and letting out a loud sigh. I chuckled at his melodramatic act, and failed to hear Tony sneak up behind me until it was too late. Suddenly his hands were around me, tickling me mercilessly.

“Tony!” I screamed, much to my embarrassment. I tried, unsuccessfully, to curl up into a ball and push his hands away while the triplets shrieked with laughter. “Stop, or I will find a paperclip!” Tony chuckled at this, but finally stopped, moving over to Isaiah, who was holding his hands out to his daddy. Tony scooped Isaiah up and swung him towards the ceiling, causing our son to squeal with delight and flail his arms and legs.

“What do you think, Iyz?” (‘Iyz’ was Tony’s nickname for him) “Do you think Mama would hurt Daddy like that?” Isaiah chortled and reached for Tony. Tony pulled Isaiah close to his face, yelping when the little boy’s flailing hand smacked him in the nose. Tony gave a dramatic groan and carefully “fell” to the floor, which sent Isaiah into further gales of laughter. He happily thumped his fallen daddy on the chest, babbling away. His two sisters babbled back, clearly wanting to be part of the fun. Tony obliged, swinging both of the girls up to the ceiling, one at a time, and letting each of them hit his nose and falling to the floor, accompanied by shrieks of laughter. I smiled as I watched my husband play with the triplets. It was really quite heartwarming.

Eventually Engel decided that he wanted to be part of the fun, and while Tony was still on the floor, he trotted over and promptly dropped a saliva-covered fox plush toy on Tony’s face. Tony let out a horrified yelp and leapt up. Scowling at my laughter, he muttered something about going to get cleaned up and left for the bathroom. Meanwhile I entertained the triplets by playing “Peek-a-Boo”.

It wasn’t long, however, before tiredness overcame Isaiah and Tali, although Kate was still wide awake. Her siblings gave huge yawns and their eyelids began to flutter. Tony came out of the bathroom, and seeing the two tired babies he gently picked them up in his strong arms and headed up the stairs while I followed with Kate. When we got to the nursery, Kate started to fuss, tugging at my blouse, her way of indicating that she wanted to feed. With a sigh, I settled into one of Gibb’s handmade rocking chairs, removed my blouse and nursing bra and helped Kate latch on. Once she was contentedly feeding, I looked up to watch Tony put Tali and Isaiah to bed.

I could never get tire of my husband, the hard-as-steel (or was it rock?) federal agent, act as tenderly as he did when he was around our children. He carefully changed Tali and Isaiah into their pajamas, and then placed them in their respective cribs, gently pulling lightweight summer blankets around them. Tali went to sleep almost immediately, but Isaiah, who never liked to go to bed without fussing, started to squirm. Tony smiled and picked him up, rocking him back and forth in his arms and humming softly. As I watched the tender father/son moment unfold before me, I pressed the memory deep into my mind, wishing to keep it there forever. Eventually Isaiah relaxed, and within a minute or two, his breathing slowed. Tony placed a gentle kiss on our son’s head before putting him back into his crib and tucking him in.

As soon as Isaiah was tucked away, Tony came over and sat in the rocking chair next to mine, brushing a finger through Kate’s peach-fuzz hair. Kate made a soft, contended sound when she felt her daddy’s finger, but it was clear that her earlier energy was quickly running out. She was barely able to stay awake for the rest of her feeding and burping, and as soon as I placed her in her crib, she fell asleep. I carefully tucked her blanket around her, kissed my fingers, and then gently touched her forehead with them. I did the same for Isaiah and Tali, and murmuring “Good night Tateleh” to each of them. Once I was finished, Tony turned on the baby monitor, turned off the light, and we both left the room.

As we made our way downstairs, I could see that the sun had sunk below the tree line, its brilliant light turning the tranquil waters of the Potomac River a fiery red. I took the baby monitor out onto the deck and settled into the deck swing, taking a grateful breath of the sweet June air and admiring the gorgeous view. I heard Tony slide the door open, and Engel took the opportunity to race out, tearing across the lawn and then spinning around and racing back, clearly happy to be outside. He raced back and forth a few more times before trotting up to the porch and flopping down at my feet. I laughed, and Tony’s deep chuckle joined mine as he came over to the swing and sat down, wrapping his warm arm around me. I snuggled closer to him, and for a few minutes we simply sat, enjoying the peace and the view.

A cool breeze came up, blowing my hair across my face. As I reached to push it back, Tony’s hand stopped mine, and he tenderly brushed the unruly strands away. I noticed a love-struck look in his eyes as he let his hand trail down my cheek.

“I miss this” he murmured.

“What?”

“This” Tony gestured to the two of us. “Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Kate, Tali and Isaiah, but I still miss just the two of us being together.” He gave his famous smile. “Seeing you like this, Zi… God you’re gorgeous.” He leaned closer and his lips met mine in a deep kiss. I wound my hands into his hair as he wove his into mine, and for several minutes we lost ourselves in each other. Eventually the need for air was too great, and we pulled apart. I laid my head on Tony’s chest as he ran his hands through my hair.

“I miss this too Tony. We have come so far, have we not?” I felt, rather than heard Tony’s laugh.

“That’s for sure. From partners, to husband and wife, to being parents… and to think that we met six years ago. It seems like a lifetime.” I felt him rest his head on mine, trailing his hands down to my back, where he started to rub it gently. “And you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way, Love.”

“Mmmm” I replied, enjoying the back rub. “Me neither.”

We sat this way for a long time, together.       


	13. A Flash

_Tony’s POV_

When you have been a part of NCIS for as long as Ziva, Gibbs, McGee and I have all been, you have no option but to get into the mentality that every day might be you or your partner’s last. This really hit home when Kate and Jenny died, and then struck a double- and triple-blow when Ziva supposedly died on the _Damocles_ and was later shot. You just can’t take life for granted in our line of work.

This thought ran through my head again and again as the harsh rattle of machine-gun fire filled the air. All four of us- Gibbs, Ziva, McGee and I- were pinned down in an abandoned construction-machine yard. Ziva and I were hiding behind a decrepit bulldozer while Gibbs and McGee were crouched five yards away behind a rusty steamroller. A lead for a case involving a dead Marine Sergeant had brought us to this yard, and we had been promptly ambushed by enemies of the gang the Sergeant had formerly been a part of. It was immediately apparent that we were out-manned and out-gunned, and I couldn’t help but to wonder how much longer we would be able to hold the gang members off before they swarmed us. We had managed to keep them at bay for the time being, but we were running out of bullets, and our Agent in Distress signal had gone unanswered. We were only able to take down four gang members before they had taken cover and began to spray us with gunfire.

As the bullets continued to fly by, Ziva suddenly shot out from our cover and fired off two rounds. To my slight relief, I heard the dying cry of one of the gang members as Ziva pulled back with a satisfied “got ‘im” look on her face. I nodded to her.

“Nice shot, Sweetcheeks. How many do you have left?”

“Five. You?” she grunted, pulling closer as a bullet clipped a piece of metal dangerously close to her ear.

“Four” I replied. “McGee! Have you heard anything yet?” I called over the ricocheting bullets. McGee shook his head glumly. “Damn” I hissed. Although neither of them had said anything, I guessed that both he and Gibbs were also low on bullets as well.

Ziva risked a peek past the bulldozer, pulling back swiftly as a bullet whizzed past. “I would give a lot to have my rifle with me right now” she snapped. Spinning around, Ziva fired off a round and I heard a cry of pain followed by a curse- the shot hadn’t been fatal. _Four_ I thought to myself.

“Zi, save your bullets. You’ll need them when they get closer.” Ziva’s chocolate eyes locked onto mine, and I knew from the deep sadness in them that she was thinking the same thing- we were not going to make it, and we were leaving the triplets parentless. Her fingers intertwined with mine, and I gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Suddenly the gunfire stopped, and I heard voices calling back and forth, although the words were intelligible. One look and Gibbs and McGee was all I needed- the gangsters were coming. I unwound my hand from Ziva’s and brushed a stray lock away from her face.

“Zi listen. When these guys show up, I’m going to give you my gun, okay? I’ll distract them long enough so that you can get away. Take care of the triplets, Love.” I started to pull my knife out, but Ziva stopped me, eyes narrowed.

“NO Tony. I will not let you sacrifice yourself for us! I am the better fighter anyway. **You** will take my gun and **I** will take care of them!” Ziva pulled out her knife, and I opened my mouth to retort, but before I could say a word, a deep thrum filled the air, growing louder and louder. Suddenly one of the most welcoming sights I had ever seen appeared on the horizon- a Marine Twin Huey helicopter filled with nine NCIS agents and six Marines. As the Marine pilot circled the helicopter low, looking for a place to land, I heard several rifle shots ring out from the aircraft, although I couldn’t tell if they had been fatal or not. The machine-gun fire started up again as the helicopter lowered behind a leaning shed and out of sight. I heard the yells from the agents and Marines, followed by volley after volley of gunfire. The ensuing gunfight, although only a few minutes long, seemed to last for ages, and I found myself gripping my gun barrel until my knuckles were white. Finally there was silence.

All four of us looked around uneasily, not sure if it was safe to come out. Our fears were put to rest, however, when a female voice called out. “Agent Gibbs? This is Agent Westman from NCIS. It’s safe for you and your team to come out now.”

Carefully we crept around our respective barriers, guns pointed, but thankfully we were greeted only by agents and Marines. One of the NCIS agents was a short brunette with serious blue eyes and close cropped hair, wearing a Kevlar vest and carrying a nasty-looking rifle. She stepped forward and introduced herself as Agent Antonia Westman, the team leader.

“We got your distress call a little while ago, but it took us a long time to assemble. It looks like we got here just in time” she said. Gibbs just nodded in response and then went to check on the bodies. After exchanging looks, we all followed. I counted seventeen well-armed gang members in all, most of who were armed with poorly-made copies of machine guns, but a few did have high-grade submachine guns. There were also a number of handguns and knives, and I spotted a baseball bat on one of the gang members. I shivered slightly as I thought of what could have happened to us if our backup hadn’t arrived. Ziva, as nonchalant as ever, bent over a corpse.

“Gibbs, this man looks familiar. I think he was one of the Sergeant’s friends back at his boot camp, yes? His name was…” Ziva never got to finish her sentence. To my complete horror, the man’s hand, which had been hiding under his body, pulled out a long combat knife. Time seemed to slow down as the man reached up, grabbed Ziva by her throat, and stabbed the knife deep into her unprotected ribs; once, twice, three times. I heard someone scream.

“Ziva, NOOOOO!!!!! NOOOOOO!!!” It was me. Without a second thought I aimed my gun and fired all remaining four shots into the gang member’s head, still pulling the trigger long after the fourth and final bullet left my gun. I heard several more shots ring out, and the gang member went completely limp, body riddled with dozens of bullets from Gibbs, McGee and myself. I wasted no time. Throwing my gun off to the side, I ran up to Ziva and gently puller her away from the man, my stomach clenching violently as warm sticky blood from Ziva’s wounds completely covered my hands. I carefully pulled Ziva’s ruined jacket off of her and quickly yanked off my own, pressing them into her stab wounds, desperately trying to staunch the horrible bleeding. Behind me I could hear Gibbs telling the dispatcher to clear the hospital’s helio pad for the Huey that was there. As I gently cradled Ziva’s body, I saw her eyelids flutter open, and her brown eyes struggled to focus on me.

“T-Tony? Is that you?” she rasped. My heart tightened at the sound of her weak and pain-filled voice, and hot tears stung my eyes. She shakily raised a hand to my cheek, and I grasped it firmly, turning my head to kiss her palm.

“Save your strength Zi. We’re gonna get you some help, okay? You’ve gotta hang in there Zi, the triplets and I need you! Stay with me Love, stay with me Ahava!” As Ziva’s eyes began to close, I let my tears fall, still whispering a steady “Stay with me”.

Ziva’s body went limp.


	14. Slipping

_Tony’s POV_

“Ziva!”

I frantically pushed my finger around on Ziva’s neck, searching for a pulse, panicking when my fingers didn’t encounter one. I couldn’t believe this was happening- we had been through too much together! I was about to start chest compressions, despite the obvious risk of Ziva losing more blood when I felt the slightest movement under my probing fingers. Freezing, I pressed my fingers more firmly into my wife’s neck, hissing when I felt her pulse- it was there, but it was so weak! Ziva needed to get to a hospital right away. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked up into Gibb’s calm blue eyes.

“She’s alive Gibbs” I croaked. At the moment, those words were the only things keeping me from screaming, crying or picking up Ziva’s knife and stabbing the gang member who had attacked her. “She’s _alive_ ” I whispered again, more to myself than to Gibbs.

“I know Tony. McGee called in a medical helicopter; it should be here in five. I need you to help the Marines get her on a stretcher and ready to go to Bethesda.” Looking around Gibb’s form, I saw a group of agents and Marines trotting over with a stretcher that their medic had brought along, presumably brought along in case someone had been injured in the gunfight. The group placed the stretcher on the ground next to me, and I carefully lowered Ziva’s limp form onto it. The Marines carefully strapped her to the stretcher, and at that moment I heard the thud of rotor blades. The red medical helicopter cleared the horizon, setting down quickly while keeping the motor running. Without a word, the Marines and agents picked the stretcher up and quickly brought Ziva into the body of the helicopter where the waiting paramedics took her in and immediately began to hook her up to an IV and oxygen mask. One of the paramedics turned to me.

“Agent DiNozzo, are you going to ride with her?” he asked. I didn’t bother to respond, but instead I jumped into the helicopter and sat down near my wife’s head. The paramedic turned to Gibbs, asking a question I couldn’t hear. Gibbs shook his head, and yelled something back to the paramedic. Because of the deafening din from the rotors, I could only catch a few words.

“Get… to… hospital… we… process… crime…” Gibbs gave me a split-second look, nodding curtly. He then turned around and began to bark orders. As soon as he was clear, the paramedics gave the pilot the okay and the chopper lifted off.

The next few minutes flew by in a blur. I remembered nothing more than holding Ziva’s limp hand in mine and silently praying for the helicopter to go faster. Several agonizing minutes later, I finally felt the chopper touch down. I quickly grabbed one of the stretcher’s handles and helped the paramedics lower Ziva onto a waiting gurney. Once Ziva was loaded onto the gurney, the nurses began to wheel her off the helio pad and into a doorway. I started followed them, but as they entered a corridor, I was stopped by a six-foot tall male nurse.

“I’m sorry sir, but I can’t let you follow them there. They’re taking her into surgery right now” he said gently. “If you will follow me, I’ll take you to an empty room so that you can fill out the information we need.” The last thing that I wanted to do was follow a man that reminded me of a bulked-up McGee, but I knew arguing would do Ziva no good. I reluctantly followed the nurse, who identified himself as Ben Darson, to an empty ER room, where I sat down and filled out the paperwork as quickly as I could. Once it was finished, I handed it off to the first nurse that I saw, and then sat down and allowed myself to get lost in my thought. Memories from the fight began to race through my head.

_The knife flashed in the weak sunlight, before its ugly blade sunk deep into Ziva’s ribs. My wife’s beautiful brown eyes widened in shock and pain, as her hand frantically scrabbled for the gun that she had accidentally dropped._

_Then the triplets’ faces filled my mind. How could they grow up without a mother? They couldn’t, they wouldn’t!_

My knuckles gripped the edge of the chair until they turned white, and I felt myself shaking violently, struggling to contain the scream of pain, rage and fear that was building up inside of me.  I was unaware of Gibb’s presence until he rested his hand on my shoulder, causing me to nearly leap out of my chair.

“Take it easy DiNozzo. How is Ziva doing?”

“All I know is that she’s in surgery right now, Boss. What about the triplets?”

“Abby, McGee, Ducky and Sara all went over to take care of them. I get to stay here with you.” Gibbs grabbed a chair and pulled it over next to mine and took a seat with a sigh. We sat in uncomfortable silence for several minutes. Finally I couldn’t take it any longer. “Dammit Boss, I can’t lose her!”  I slammed my fist down on the chair arm, wincing in pain as I hit the hard wood. Gibbs responded by raising an eyebrow.

“Keep that up DiNozzo, and you’ll break that hand. Do you think that you’re the only one feeling that way?” I looked up at him, and in that moment I saw my own grief and anguish reflected in his eyes. I realized that to him, losing Ziva would be like losing Kelly and Shannon all over again. I found comfort in our shared agony, and I gave him a grateful nod, too numb at the time for words. We sat silence again as the minutes ticked by. Gibbs closed his eyes, and to all appearances went to sleep, while I continued to stare out the window. Hours later, the sound of gurney wheels filled the air, and a few seconds later nurses wheeled in Ziva and a small fleet of medical machines. And at that moment I could only feel one feeling.

Pain. Agonizing mental pain.

As the team of nurses maneuvered Ziva into the room, every horrifying detail was painfully stark. Her skin had lost its normal healthy olive glow and had instead been replaced by a sickly pale pallor. Dozens of tubes and wires only added to the painful image. A breathing tube ran into her mouth and down her throat. Dozens of electrodes and wires had been placed on her chest and head. One tube led into her left arm, carrying donor blood, while an IV line was sunk into her right arm. An oxygen monitor was clipped to her left index finger while a blood pressure cuff was strapped to her right arm. A doctor walked in along with the nurses. She was an older woman, with short, spiked silver hair, piercing hazel eyes, and a lined face covered by a strict expression, leaving no doubt was in charge. The doctor stuck out her hand and clasped mine with a firm grip, introducing herself as Doctor Megan Tomes. After I gave her my name, she consulted her clipboard.

“Well Agent DiNozzo, as you can see, your wife, pardon the expression, has been through hell. She has three major stab wounds- two hit her ribs and were deflected, but one went in between her ribs and pierced her lung. Fortunately the lung did not collapse, but the wounds caused Ziva to lose a lot of blood, and she is having difficulty breathing. We were able to successfully sew up the wounds, but she isn’t out of the woods yet. We put her in a medical coma to help her recover, and we’re not sure when she will wake up.” For the first time Dr. Tomes looked up, and I could see that saying this hurt. She let out a soft sigh. “I’m guessing that you’re wondering what is going to happen now, and honestly right now I can’t tell you. Ziva is a very strong woman, and if it had just been a simple stab wound, I would think her able to recover quickly. But because her lung was damaged, she may have difficulty recovering. There is always a risk of infection, and… well we will do our best.” I could only nod at her words, and she quickly took this as a sign to leave. The nurses finished setting up the rest of the machines, and soon the room was empty of everyone except for the three of us. For several moments the only sound was the sound of Ziva’s raspy breathing.

“Damn it Ziver” Gibbs growled. He got up and gently kissed Ziva on the forehead. “You had better recover. Your babies need you.” He went over to the doorway. “I have to return back to the Navy Yard and finish my report. I’ll be back as soon as possible.” He walked out, and I pulled my chair closer to my unconscious wife. I gently took her hand and began to rub it with my thumb, while running my other hand through her hair.

“Zi” I whispered softly. I lowered my head onto her bed and began to sob.     


	15. Go Back Ziva

_Ziva’s POV_

**_Earlier_ **

I have let my guard down. _This was the only thought that ran through my head as the gang member grasped my throat. I had been foolish, extremely foolish. I had simply assumed that the man was dead, and rather than making sure of that, or at least keeping my gun at the ready and staying alert, I had relaxed and gotten too close. Once the man’s hand closed around my throat, I dropped my gun and made the second mistake of the day. Rather than immediately breaking the man’s hold on the throat and going for my own knife, I tried to recover my fallen weapon and wasted several crucial seconds, and those few seconds of fumbling were all that it took._

 _A white-hot pain erupted in my side, another, and then a third that seemed to drive all of the air from my lungs. Breathing suddenly became extremely difficult and the world began to swim before my eyes. I heard Tony give an agonized scream, but his voice sounded oddly distant and distorted. Below me, the man gave several spasmodic jerks as several bullets sunk into his body, and then he limp, mercifully releasing his strangle hold on my neck. I fell on top of the man, but I no longer had the strength to push myself off of him- just keeping my eyes open was a monumental task. I was faintly aware of a pair of hands carefully pulling me off of the man, and then the hands pulled off my jacket and pressed it into my burning wounds. My vision was failing, and each breath seemed to be drawing liquid fire into my burning lungs, but I had to speak, I had to know that_ he _was there._

_“T-Tony? Is that you?” I blinked as quickly as I could, trying to bring my husband’s face into focus. If I was going to die, a fact that was becoming more and more possible, I wanted to be able to see Tony one more time. As his face floated above mine, I reached out with my hand and felt it touch the rough stubble on his cheek. Tony’s large, warm hand covered mine, and I felt his hot tears cover my hands as his face turned to brush my palm with his lips._

_“Save your strength Zi.” Tony’s voice started to fade as I struggled to remain conscious, a fight I knew I was going to lose. “We’re gonna get you some help, okay? You’re gotta hang in there Zi, the triplets and I need you! Stay with me Love, stay with me, Ahava!” Tony’s voice cracked, and my heart broke at the obvious suffering he was going through. I wanted nothing more than to get back up and embrace him, to hold him and never let go, but I no longer had the strength to even keep my eyes open. As my world dimmed, I heard Tony’s anguished voice whisper “Stay with me!” over and over._

_Then everything went black._

_….._

**_Present_ **

_What felt like hours later, I opened my eyes and looked around in confusion. My last memory was of me being stabbed, and I expected that I would be waking up in a hospital bed, attached to a dozen different machines. I would have expected to wake up to stark white walls, the sickening smell of antiseptic, the constant beep of machinery and a searing pain in my side. What I did not expect was to wake up to complete darkness, and yet I felt oddly at peace, and had no pain. My hand dropped to my side, but I felt no pain, no scar, no mark at all that would indicate a six-inch blade had sunk into my side. My hands shook as I reached behind to feel my back. Nothing. No ropy whip mark scars, no circular cigarette burns- nothing. Only smooth skin met my fingers._

_Thoroughly confused and a little frightened, I looked up again as a light flared up in the distance. Through the light I saw a silhouette of two women, one of whom was carrying something. As they came closer, their features became more and more distinguishable. The first woman, who was not carrying anything, was immediately recognizable._

_“Jenny!” I gasped. The former NCIS director, my_ friend _, smiled, her blue eyes sparkling with a light I had never seen before. The woman next to her looked very familiar, and it took a minute for me to realize who she was._

_Caitlyn Todd. Holding a baby boy._

_As took a closer look at the baby, I realized that the baby looked very familiar- he could have been the triplets’ sibling. I looked back up at Caitlyn, who smiled a sad smile._

_“You recognize him, don’t you Ziva?” She bounced the chuckling babe, and pain shot through my chest._

_“He was my miscarriage. A year ago” I murmured. I reached out to stroke the baby’s cheek, tears coursing down my eyes, but my hand passed through thin air. Confused, I looked at Jen, who had the same sorrowful look on her face. If I was dead, should I not have been able to feel my lost son’s skin?_

_“You are between consciousnesses, Ziva. ‘In limbo’ if you would like. Your wounds are severe, but your body is still alive. You shouldn’t be here, my friend, you need to go back.” Jenny’s hand, which had no weight, rested on my shoulder. I turned to her, my mouth open in protest. I couldn’t leave my son, not now!_

_“Jenny…” I started. Kate broke in._

_“Ziva, Jenny is right. You shouldn’t be here. Tony needs you, the triplets need you.” I looked away, not sure of what to do. Kate walked back into my line of sight. “Ziva, listen to me. I watch over my team, my family, and because you’ve become part of that team, you are my family now. I cannot allow you to lose your life, and I cannot allow the team to lose you, especially Tony. He needs you.” She handed the baby over to Jen, and placed a gentle kiss that had no feeling on my forehead. “We’ll be here. We are always here, for you and for the team.” Jenny nodded._

_“Go live your life Ziva” the former director whispered. “Close your eyes, and go back.”_

_As the scene started to fade, I heard Kate call out._

_“Tell Tony he has nothing to be sorry for.”_

_I fell back into blackness._

_….._

My eyes snapped open, and the first sensation that I became aware of, quite painfully, was an agonizing pain in my left side, followed by a choking feeling as I realized that there was a large breathing tube shoved down my throat. Panic set in, and I desperately clawed at the tube, setting off numerous alarms. Within seconds a nurse came hurrying in, and upon seeing that I was awake she yelled something out into the hallway that I was unable to comprehend. She then came over and speaking calming words, she gently pulled my hands away from my throat and then carefully removed the tube. The feeling of the hard plastic being pulled out of my throat caused me to gag, and I soon began to cough uncontrollably, gasping for air between each cough and growing more and more dizzy. The nurse quickly placed an oxygen mask over my nose and mouth and instructed me to take deep breaths. After a few seconds I was able to calm down. Suddenly the person I wanted to see the most rushed in.

The instant we locked eyes, Tony came rushing over to my side, grasping my hand as if he would never let go. Tony didn’t say a word, but rather he leaned over, with tears in his eyes and placed a deep, yet gentle kiss on my forehead where only what had seemed minutes ago Kate had kissed me, and I squeezed his hand with all my strength. He ran his hand through my hair, and I closed my eyes, leaning into the gentle stroking. I heard the nurse tell Tony that the doctor would be in soon as soon as she could to look me over, and then her footsteps receded as she left. Suddenly I felt a warm pressure on my chest, and I opened my eyes to see Tony’s large hand over my heart. Tears were flowing freely from his eyes.

“Oh God Ziva, I thought I would never feel that heartbeat again.” He grasped my hand in both of his and kissed my knuckles. “I love you Ziva.”

“I love you too” I whispered back, wincing as the words sent fresh fire up my side. Taking another breath of plastic-scented air, I spoke yet again. “Tony, what happened after I was stabbed? How long have I been here? Oh God, what about the triplets?” I tensed up feeling my adrenaline wash throughout me, and the room began to swim around me as I gasped for oxygen. Tony’s eyes immediately showed concern, and he quickly yet gently grasped both of my shoulders, steadying me. I took a few more deep breaths, and then looked back at him.

“Ziva, you need to take it easy. The third stab tore into part of your lung, which is why you’re having such a difficult time breathing. The triplets are perfectly fine, they’re just fine. I went to see them yesterday, and they’re all very happy with formula now. Abby, Tim, Gibbs, Ducky and Sara have all been taking really good care of them and Engel.”

“You said you visited them yesterday. How long have I been here, exactly?” Tony looked away, and I could immediately tell that it had been a while.

“Tony…”

“Oh, alright, you were out for four days. Ziva hold on!” he called as I started back up. He gently pushed me back into the bed. “You lost a lot of blood and you were stabbed in the lung. It could have been worse, a lot worse. You woke up, that’s what matters.” I was about to reply, but just then the emergency room doctor came in to look me over.

…..

Twenty minutes later, as Tony and I were talking, I told him what I had seen while I was unconscious. Tony listened intently, but when I looked up at him, he was looking out the window. I was worried that he might have thought that I had gone insane. However, when I looked at him again, but then I saw a tear roll down his cheek, quickly followed by several more. He wiped them away furiously, but more quickly came yet again.

“Jenny was always on the looking out for us, wasn’t she. And Kate.. oh Kate…” Tony buried his face in his hands. Suddenly Kate’s words came back to me.

“Tony, Kate’s last words to me were to tell you that you have nothing to be sorry for.” He looked up at me, and his eyes gleamed with more unshed tears.

“She was a good person, Kate. And you said she was holding our miscarried child? A boy?” I nodded, my throat suddenly very tight. Tony, understanding my silence, squeezed my hand.

“She didn’t want you to lose me, Tony” I whispered.

“No, she didn’t.” Tony turned back to the window, and I heard him whisper softly.

“Thank you Kate. Thank you Jen. Thank you for sending her back.”  


	16. Recovery

_Tony's POV_

"Babababadadadpthzzzzz"

"You are very vocal today, Isaiah. Are you working on your secret triplet language my love?"

"KA!"

I chuckled to myself as I made my way back towards the nursery. Ziva was already there, changing the triplet's diapers, but I had noticed that we were running low on diapers in the nursery, and had run down to the storage closet to get more. As I approached the doorway, I stopped and smiled. Ziva was bent over the changing table, her hands covering her eyes as she played "peek-a-boo" with our son, who was laughing hysterically at his mother's antics.

To me, it was extremely amazing just how quickly Ziva had recovered. It had been only two weeks since she had been stabbed by the gang member, and it was very difficult to tell that she had been injured at all. Of course, the first week after she had been stabbed was a living hell for my wife, who had stoically endured fierce pain from her wounds, difficulty and intense pain while breathing, a constant confusing haze from her pain medications and worst of all, the agonizing mental and emotional pain from being separated from the triplets. Ziva had taken all these hardships in stride, but more than once while visiting her in the hospital I would catch her glancing longingly out her window, a sad look deep in her mocha-colored eyes.

After the first week, however, Ziva had begun to rapidly improve, stunning all of the hospital doctors. By the middle of the second week she had started to drive the medical staff insane, and it wasn't long before pretty much every one of the staff wanted her out. I covered my mouth to hide a smile as a memory surfaced- a young nurse had been changing Ziva's IV bag, and Ziva had been protesting vehemently about having "another useless tube" in her and had finally resorted to muttering in Hebrew. The nurse, who had been tending to Ziva all week long and consequently taking her abuse, had finally snapped and had barked back in Hebrew, startling Ziva- not for long though. Within seconds, the two were arguing back and forth, and I had eventually intervened. The next day there was a new nurse.

Now Ziva was back home and the only lingering signs from her injuries were when she occasionally favored her left side and shortness of breath. However, her breathing was still painful to hear. I would never have mentioned it, but there was a quiet, yet definite rasp to her breathing, a reminder of how deep the knife had plunged. I had spent too many nights lying awake and listening to that awful sound as memories flashed past my eyes, taunting me, reminding me of how close I had come to losing Ziva. However, the scenes such as the one playing out in front of me that kept these thoughts at bay. Ziva and 3-month-old Isaiah were clearly enjoying their time together, and there was no mistaking the immense happiness on Ziva's part of being back with her children.

I had just put away the diapers when I heard a soft yet demanding cry come from behind me. I turned around to see Tali beating an ecstatic tattoo with her hands and feet. I picked her up out of the crib and she started a happy coo, reaching out to feel my face as she practiced a new trick that she had learned- blowing raspberries. Clearly it was playtime for her.

"Tali- girl, where are your manners?" I asked, pretending to be offended. I gently tickled her belly, causing her to laugh her high, sweet laugh and swat at her fingers with her hands. Not wanting to be left out, Kate started to babble, cooing happily when I picked her up out her crib. Once she was close enough to Tali, Kate started to swat at her, causing Tali to flinch and shriek in protest. Ziva spun around with concern written across her face. I gave a loud sigh and quickly shifted my hold so that the sisters were in a "football" hold and my body separated the two. I looked back at Ziva, whose hand was now covering her mouth as she struggled to (unsuccessfully) hold back a chuckle.

"They're just barely four months old and they're already fighting with each other" I groaned. "I just can't  _wait_ until they get older. You know, this is all you Zee-vah." I grinned while Ziva glared at the use of my old nickname for her.

"It seems to me that they are fighting for your affection Tony, and I seem to recall a certain  _someone_ who gets jealous when I am around other men." She patted my cheek with the back of her hand as she passed by me to go clean up, and all I could do was stand rooted to the spot and stare. Ziva came back, scooped up Isaiah, and started downstairs. I followed her with our two daughters now happily batting at my sides.

"I do not get  _jealous_!" I finally sputtered.

"No?" Ziva asked as she started down the stairs.

"No!" I yelped, hurrying after her. "Name one time!" I cried indignantly.

Ziva spun around, causing me to stumble back a few steps. "Would you like the events in chronological, alphabetical or random order Tony?" she asked with a smirk.

"Chronological. Really Z…"

"Alright then, yesterday when we were taking our walk you nearly bit the head off of that poor student who was mowing the Barr's lawn, even though he was at least ten years younger than me…"

" _You're_ ten years younger than me." Ziva shot me a glare, before continuing.

"…and then there was that one male nurse… Ben?..."

"Alright, alright already, I get it!" I said. Ziva chuckled and turned back down the stairs. "That kid was totally leering at your ass though." I muttered. Ziva shot me a sharp look, reminding me not to use that kind language around our children.

Once we got to the family room, Ziva gently set Isaiah down and spread out the triplet's play blanket. I carefully set the girls down on their stomachs next to Isaiah, and all three immediately pushed themselves up and rolled over onto their backs. We had them do this every day to help build their arm strength, and all three seemed to enjoy this exercise immensely. Once they had flipped over, Ziva got out a few soft baby toys for them to play with, but Tali ignored the toys and started to reach towards me. I picked her up and placed her on my chest, one of her favorite places- it was where she could hear and feel my heartbeat. Today was no exception, and Tali immediately laid her head down, cooing as she listened to my heart. Kat e and Isaiah, momentarily interested in the movement, watched her for a few seconds before they lost interest and went back to playing with the baby toys. Ziva smiled at her "brood" and began to croon softly in Hebrew as she watched them play. Kate reached towards her mother, making soft "uh-uh-uh" sounds, and Ziva immediately scooped her up and bounced out oldest daughter on her knee.

All too soon, however, playtime ended as the triplets began to succumb to sleep. Isaiah was the first to fall to his exhaustion- he had been chewing on a blue ring and suddenly he gave a huge yawn, eyelids fluttering. His chewing slowed, and then stopped as our son finally gave in and fell asleep almost immediately, faceplanting the floor. I chuckled as I carefully turned him over and removed the ring from his mouth. As I did this, I looked up to see Ziva cuddling Kate, who was nodding off, and Tali had fallen asleep in my arms. I nodded to Ziva, scooped up Isaiah, and we both headed back upstairs to put the triplets to bed. Engel, who had been sleeping in the living room, came trotting up the stairs and then curled up in his "spot" by the triplet's cribs.

Before I put Isaiah and Tali in their cribs, I placed a gentle kiss on each of their foreheads and whispered "I love you". Isaiah was too far gone to notice the kiss, but Tali shifted slightly and gave a small contented sigh, snuggling closer. My heart melted as I looked at her sweet face, and I rocked her in my arms for a moment before gently laying her in her crib and covering her with her light summer blanket. Ziva shut the blinds and switched on the baby monitor before following me to the door. Just as we were about to head out Ziva stopped and turned back to the room. Slightly startled, I turned around to see what she was doing. Ziva watched our children as they slept peacefully, and I noticed her hand subconsciously lowering to the point on her side where she had been stabbed. I knew that she was thinking about how close the triplets had been to losing their mother.

I came up behind my wife and gently caught her hand in mine and ran my other hand through her hair.

"Zi" I whispered, "it's alright. They're here, I'm here, and you're here. We're all here."

I reached around to cup her cheek, and found it wet with tears. Ziva rested her cheek on mine, and I heard her sigh softly.

"We are all here." she whispered.


	17. Taken

_Ziva’s POV_

“Gear up!” Gibbs roared from across the bullpen. “Got a dead Marine at Quantico!” I started to reach towards my bag, but was stopped by Gibbs.

“Not you. Paperwork” he grunted, unceremoniously slamming a stack of files on my desk. I gave an exasperated sigh.

“Gibbs, I…”

“You’re still on desk duty, David, until I say otherwise” he barked. In a somewhat gentler tone he added, “I need to be completely sure you’re 100% back Zivers. I don’t want my grandchildren to lose their mom.” Then, as if to recover his normally gruff persona, he finished with a growled, “I want that stack reduced, Probie.” I glared at him, but reluctantly pulled a file off of the stack. Tony gave me a sympathetic look as he passed, but I shot him a warning look before he was able to speak. He clamped his mouth shut, brushed his fingers across my cheek, and then scurried to the elevator before I could hit him. I gave a frustrated growl, turned back to my keyboard, and began to type.

Ten minutes into the monotonous work I was ready to scream. The case files were long, repetitive, incredibly boring, and seemed to go on forever. I wanted nothing more than to take my gun out and fire several rounds into the file stack. As I reached out to pull another file to my computer, my hand accidentally knocked the stack, and it fell to the floor. I yelped, and let loose a string of Hebrew curses as I began to collect the files, trying to ignore the stares of my co-workers.

“Boys leave you behind again Ziva?” an all-too-chipper voice asked. I turned to see Abby, whose tight-fitting tank top was just showing the beginnings of her small baby bump. Her bright smile immediately began to lift my spirits, but I was only able to manage a rueful half-smile in return.

“Yes, but only because I have a barely detectable rasp when I breathe. I am perfectly fine, but Gibbs insists on treating me like a glass doll!”

“China doll” Abby corrected, causing me to glare at her. She simply shrugged, and then continued, “He does have a good reason for it- that ‘rasp’ means that you’re still healing Ziva. You can’t risk your health by going back too soon- too many people’s lives would be wrecked if you were hurt- Tony, Kate, Isaiah, Tali, me…”

“Okay, okay, I understand” I grumbled. I glumly turned back to my computer.

“You know…” Abby started slowly, “I _do_ have some ballistics that need testing, and since loud noises really aren’t good for my baby…” here she rested her hand on her belly, “I could use some help…” Before Abby could finish, I slammed my case file shut and put my computer on “sleep” mode.

“ _Thank you_ ” I groaned gratefully. “I believe that I will explode if I have to endure one more case file.” Abby grinned and reached over to switch my phone to the ballistics lab.

…..

_BLAM!_

The sharp retort of the Beretta U22 Neo filled the air, and I smiled with satisfaction as the bullet slammed into the ballistics simulate. I removed the simulate, placed it on the nearby table, and then loaded a metal plate into the firing chamber, took aim, and fired the gun.

_BLAM!_

My smile broadened, and I fired another shot for good measure.

_BLAM!_

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Abby approach the ballistics door. She waited until I set the U22’s safety, emptied the ammunition, and then pulled out the metal plate. As Abby came up to me, I handed the plate over to her.

“Feel better?” she asked with a grin.

“Much” I replied, matching her smile. Abby turned and typed something into her computer, before suddenly turning back to me.

“Ziva, I have something to ask you.”

“Yes Abby?”

“Would you be my Maid of Honor? I mean, I can’t imagine anyone other than you, and since I was your Maid of Honor…” I felt my heart lighten at the honor, and before I even knew what I was doing, I wrapped my arms around her. I heard Abby’s breath catch, and her arms quickly engulfed me in a tight hug.

“I take that as a yes?” Abby’s voice was slightly muffled against my shoulder.

“Abby, I would be honored. Thank you.” I replied. Abby pulled away from the hug and rested her hands on my shoulders and opened her mouth to speak. But instead of speaking, her hands flew up to her mouth and she rushed over to her biohazard bin. Seconds later the sound of retching filled the air. Abby held her pigtails back with her right hand and gripped the biohazard bin with her left hand. I went up to the ailing Goth and gently pulled her hair away from her face. Abby heaved yet again, and I winced sympathetically. Unpleasant memories reminded me of this unpleasant part of pregnancy. Fortunately, this episode was quick, and Abby was soon wiping her mouth with a paper towel that I had provided her. She gave a low moan as she stood back up.

“Thank you Ziva. You know, having a baby is going to be exciting, but this part really, really _sucks_! How long did you have your morning sickness?” Abby filled a paper cup with some mouthwash and started to gurgle it.

“Three months” I replied. Abby’s eyes widened, and she spat out the mouthwash with surprise.

“ _Three months_!?” she yelped. “How am I supposed to survive _three_ months of this!?!”

I was about to reply to Abby’s question when my cell phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Tony who was calling. I flipped the phone open.

“Shalom, Tony… hold on… what…” Tony was speaking so rapidly that at first I was unable to understand what he was saying. Finally my husband was able to slow down, and as his word s came through with a terrifying clarity, I felt my knees go weak and leaned against the wall as Abby looked on with clear concern.

“ _No_ ” I whispered.

…..

_Tony’s POV_

After leaving Ziva at the bullpen, Gibbs, McGee and I descended into the garage, where Gibbs got into one of the Chargers, leaving McGee and myself to the truck. As we followed the navy blue car, McGee turned to me, a serious look on his face.

“Tony?” 

“Yes McGee?”

“Would- would you be my best man at our wedding?” I grinned- trust McGee to go right to the point, albeit with a little hesitation.

“Well, who else would you ask, Gibbs, Ducky…” seeing McGee’s irritated look I decided to stop my teasing. “Of course Tim- I’m honored. Full circle, huh?”

I glanced over to see McGee’s face lit up in a full grin. “Thank you Tony” he said quietly. I was going to respond, but then I saw the Charger’s brake lights flash and I slammed on the brakes myself, causing both of us to grunt as we were jammed into our seat belts. “Nice stop there DiNozzo” McGee grumbled as we got out. I gave him a glare as we headed towards the crime scene tape and the body.

The body was a particularly nasty sight, even for a murder. The Marine, a man in his early thirties, was hanging by his feet from a nearby tree with his hands tightly bound and his throat slit. As we got closer I saw that his dark hair, olive skin and sharp features were extremely similar to Ziva’s. I gave slight shiver at the stark resemblance while I snapped pictures; glad for once that Ziva was not present. As I took a few more orientation photographs, I heard Ducky and Palmer come up behind me.

“My goodness, how did this poor man end up like this?” Ducky exclaimed as he came up to the Marine. “Tied up like, like…”

“Like a deer!” Palmer exclaimed. “He reminds me of the deer my dad used to hunt.” As we all turned to glare at him, he started to stammer. “I-I mean that we used to-to hang the deer that way before we butchered them… not-not that this guy should be butchered- I mean- I- I’m going to get the body bag” he finished as he began to back away.

“Yes, please go do that, Mr. Palmer” Ducky replied. As Palmer scurried away, I could swear I hear the ME mutter “That boy” to Jimmy’s retreating figure.

“Anthony, Timothy, if you are finished with those photographs, would you be so kind as to help me remove this poor man from here?” I nodded and after I set the camera down, I carefully braced the dead man’s shoulders. Gibbs, who had finished speaking with the couple who had found the Marine, went up and cut the man down with his knife, and I staggered as rope snapped and the man’s full weight fell on me. As carefully as I could I lowered the man to the ground, stepping back to allow Tim to scan the Marine’s fingerprint. Tim crouched down and gently placed the dead man’s finger on the scanner. The scanner took a few seconds, and when it beeped, he quickly looked at the screen, but his face scrunched up in confusion.

“What’s the matter McTech- ow!” I winced as Gibb’s hand connected with the back of my head. “Sorry Boss.”

“Spit it out McGee” Gibbs growled as he turned back to McGee. “Did his fingerprints not match?”

“They matched,” McGee replied, “But not to the Marine database. He matched to _Mossad._ ” Tim looked up, his face pale.

“His name is Zeev David.”

…..

After we secured Zeev’s body, I called Ziva to try to find what in the _hell_ was going on. Once I was able to calm down enough to relate the story at a fairly normal speed, I heard Ziva whisper “ _No!_ ” over the line. Her tone frightened me, but before I could say another word, she said “Tony, you need to get back here _now._ ”

I wasted no time in getting back into the NCIS truck with Tim, and we sped off with the lights flashing. We pulled into the Navy Yard in record time, and I ran to the elevator as fast as I could, punching the button repeatedly. As soon as the doors opened, I leapt in, with Tim and Gibbs only just making it in before the doors closed. As the lift pulled us up, I paced around the tiny interior anxiously, until Gibbs smacked me on the back of the head and told me to stand still.

Once the elevator doors opened to the main floor, I rushed into the bullpen, frantically scanning the area, before my eyes fell on Ziva. I ran over to her and gathered her up into my arms, breathing a deep sigh of relief. Before either of us could say a word, however, Ziva’s cell phone rang, and she extracted herself from me to answer it. As she listened, her brow furrowed, and then she pushed the button to turn on the speakerphone. Seconds later a voice came over the line, and my skin crawled at the sound.

“Agents DiNozzo and David, finding Officer Zeev was only the beginning. I would suggest that you and your team listen very carefully to me.” The speaker’s voice was cold, calculating and cruel. “Go check on the NCIS nursery. Do not hang up.”

Ziva and I exchanged a panicked look, and then rushed to the nursery as fast as we could, while McGee and Gibbs followed behind us. We came to the bright blue door and kicked it open, where we were met with a horrifying sight.

The nursery attendant was lying sprawled on the floor, blood pooling around her. But that was not the worst part.

The triplets were _gone._

Ziva gasped, and the cold voice came over the cell phone again. “From the sound of your voice, Agent David, I can only assume you have found that your children are missing. Now, I am sending information on a man that your government is holding. You have twenty-four hours to get him released. If you meet this deadline, you will see your children once again. If you do not, the children will be sent back to you.”

“In coffins.”


	18. Demands

_Ziva's POV_

" _If you meet this deadline, you will see your children again. If you do not, the children will be sent back to you. In coffins."_

There was a click on the other end of the line, which sounded as loud as a gunshot. The cell phone slipped from my numb fingers and crashed to the floor. Tears, hot and stinging, welled up in my eyes and spilled over, and before I could stop myself, I had flung myself, howling in agony, into Tony's chest. As my husband wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his warm chest, I felt his body begin to shake, and knew that he too was crying. As we embraced, one thought ran through my head, again and again.  _I have already lost one child. I bear that loss again!_

Through my haze of tears and emotions, I became faintly aware of Gibbs yelling at McGee to find the information that "the asshole" had sent to us. As McGee's hurried footsteps faded away, I slowly turned my head away from Tony's chest to see Gibbs press his fingers into the nursery attendant's neck. He shook his head angrily, and I understood his frustration. Not only was a life needlessly taken, but if the attendant had survived, we could have gotten more information about my triplets' kidnapper. He called Ducky to bring a body bag, and then checked the nursery's roster. By now a crowd, drawn by the noise, had gathered, speaking in hushed whispers as they tried to see what had happened. I turned towards them, furious at their actions, when an authoritative voice rang out.

"Don't you all have work to do!" Director Vance walked through the crowd with a deliberate stride, and they parted like a wave around him. At first no one moved except to exchange nervous glances, but when he turned around to glare at them, they were all quick to return to their desks. The director then turned back to us, his black eyes flashing.

"What in the  _hell_ happened Gibbs?" he barked. Gibbs, less easily frightened by the director's authoritative tone, met Vance's gaze with his own icy stare.

"Some bastard  _kidnapped_ the triplets, Leon, that's what happened. He's demanding the return of a federal prisoner- McGee is finding out who it is." Before Vance could respond, Ducky and Jimmy arrived with a body bag. The old ME looked grave, while the young assistant simply looked frightened, but the two were quick to move the body. As Jimmy wheeled the body away, Ducky placed his hand on my shoulder.

"If there is anything I can do to help, my dear, please let me know." I nodded to him, but I still could not find the words to speak. Ducky gave my shoulder a gentle pat, gave Gibbs a curt nod, and then followed Jimmy into the elevator. Once he was gone, Vance turned back to Gibbs.

"You said the kidnapper was demanding the release of a federal prisoner. Who is it?" However, it was not Gibbs, but McGee who answered.

"His name is Nikolai Arieh, Director, Boss." At these words, I started as a faint memory surfacing in my head. "He's a former Mossad agent who went rouge. I did a background search on him. His father, Yaakov was Israeli and his mother Tatiana was Russian. He had two other brothers of the same age- Nazar and Nikita; they were triplets." McGee handed a piece of paper over to Vance, who scanned it and then passed it to Gibbs. Gibbs looked intently at the paper, and then looked up again, a fierce glint in his blue eyes.

"This still doesn't tell us why the hell this guy was wanted, why the hell my  _grandchildren_ were kidnapped!" Gibbs roared angrily, making McGee flinch. "What connection does this man have with the dead body, and  _what_ possible connection does he have to us McGee!" Gibbs snarled. At his words, the memory solidified, and I spoke up.

"He is targeting me Gibbs. The caller is Nazar, Nikolai's brother. He is targeting me because of who my family is… was." Everyone turned towards me, eyes wide with shock, even Tony. As the words came out, powerful, painful memories arose and, not trusting myself to look into my colleague's questioning gazes, I leaned into Tony's chest and closed my eyes. I felt my husband's arms lock around me protectively as he lowered his head and breathed softly on my neck. I took a deep breath and continued, tears pouring down my cheeks.

"Zeev is-was my first cousin. I was named after him. He was the ideal Mossad officer- loyal, strong, cunning and emotionless. If my father had been able to replace me with him, he would have. If I was not being compared to Ari, then I was being compared to Zeev, and I was never as good as him. Still, Zeev was nice to me, he even taught me how to play foot- soccer. I didn't mind Arieh boys either; they were Zeev's neighbors and closest friends. The four grew up, played, trained and fought together. They were inseparable- many called Zeev the Arieh "quadruplet" because of his closeness to them. They were like this for many years, but one mission tore the friendship completely apart."

"Zeev and Nikita were on a mission infiltrating a terrorist group. They were extremely close to getting the information they needed to destroy the group when Zeev accidentally gave the two of them away. The terrorist group tortured the two, filming it for Mossad and demanding the release of a key terrorist that Mossad had imprisoned. My father sent a rescue unit for the two, but during their escape a man shot at Zeev, Nikita took the bullet for him and was killed instantly." I paused, swallowing back a sob. Tony's hand lowered to my back and began to massage it gently.

"Both Nazar and Nikolai were furious when they received the news, Nazar especially so- he was very close to Nikita. They blamed both Mossad and my cousin for Nikita's death, even though it was the fault of neither party. However, the two were blinded by their hatred and soon broke off from Mossad and came here to join an anti-government militia group in Los Angeles. Beyond that, I know nothing." A feeling of complete helplessness fell over me, and I buried my face in Tony's chest again. From behind me, I heard McGee's somewhat muffled voice.

"I can fill you in from their Boss…es. The two brothers changed their names in order to join Enhancing Law Enforcement, or ELE, in LA, as Ziva said. Nazar, who called himself Nate Dalcheck, was quick to rise in their ranks and was soon leading weapons run groups. Nikolai, or Nick Dalcheck, never really made it past their 'grunt' status, but he did manage to hook up with a dishonorable discharged Marine named Scott Riley. Riley ended up killing another Marine, which got our team in LA involved. They infiltrated the group and eventually took them down. Nikolai was captured, but Nazar was presumably running a weapons run, so he and a group of five others were not found."

"So what you're saying is that we need to contact the LA team" Gibbs growled. Before McGee could answer, my cell phone gave a shrill ring. I bent over and picked it up. Swallowing my tears and taking a deep breath, I steadied myself and opened the phone.

"Agent David" I said in as calm of a tone as I could muster.

"I see that you have received my information." Nazar's cold, heartless voice caused my hands to shake as red-hot anger quickly replaced my earlier grief. Seeing my face, Gibbs motioned for me to put the phone on speaker.

"Nazar" I spat his name with a vengeance. "If you have hurt my babies in any way…" unable to come up with a suitable threat in English, I instead switched to Hebrew, stopping when Gibbs gently rested his hand on my shoulder and shook his head.

"Ahh, there is the Ziva I remember. Did you tell your adopted  _family_ about you how you used play alongside me in football, about how you used to hug me, and how you used to call me Zar-Zar?" Nazar's mocking tone enraged me further, and it took all of my will not to hurl the phone against the wall. Only the knowledge that he alone could possibly bring Isaiah, Kate and Tali back to me kept me on the line.

"You lying, filthy, soulless  _traitor…"_

"Ah- ah-ah, temper, temper  _Little Zeeva._ Do not forget that it is I who has your children. And just to remind you, you and your team have until 11 o' clock tomorrow. I will call you two hours before then to give you the address. Come on time, and come alone, or the babies die. Until then, shalom Ziva." The line clicked, and the harsh drone of the dial tone filled the air as Nazar hung up. Gibbs, most likely sensing my mounting anger, carefully pulled the cell out of my hand, keeping me from hurling it against the wall and turned back to Vance.

"Now you see what we're up against. We need to talk to the LA team,  _now._ They need to get this man released and bring him here." Gibbs was already bringing out his cell phone, presumably to contact the team's senior agent.

"Gibbs." Vance's voice stopped him, and I clenched my fists.  _Not now Director. Not now!_ "This man is a terrorist. We don't negotiate with terrorists, and we most definitely do not negotiate the release of a former militia member! You can't just expect the  _United States_ to bend to what you want to do." Vance looked Gibbs squarely in the eyes- not a mean feat, considering that Gibbs looked like he might throttle him.

"He's holding the triplets  _hostage_ Leon! Three innocent babies- you cannot possibly believe we will allow him to do anything to them!"

"Director Vance, please. If you do not authorize the release, then I will go after the man myself." All eyes fell on me, but kept my eyes on Vance, who was looking at me with a mixture of shock and reprimand. Even Tony gave me a hissed " _Ziva_ ", which I chose to ignore.

"Out of the question Agent David. You will do no such thing." Vance met my glare.

"With all due respect Director, yes I will. They are my chi-"

"You will do no such thing by yourself. While I will not authorize the release of Nikolai Arieh, I can have the LA team bring him in for further questioning that may help us find his brother and bring him to _justice_." Vance cast a meaningful glance around the room, and the rest of us began to nod. My tears started to slow as a ray of hope came through. As I looked at him, Vance gave a nod.

"I will call Hetty and have her bring the team together. Meet me in MTAC in five. All of you." As he turned to leave, he turned back to us.

"We  _will_ get them back, and we will bring this ass to justice. That I promise."


	19. Planning

_Tony's POV_

_"We **will** get them back, and we will bring this ass to justice. That I promise."_

As Director Vance trotted up the stairs to his office, I glared at his retreating figure.  _Those words had better not have been hollow words._ I thought coldly.  _Or Ziva and I will become the worst nightmare imaginable._ As these thoughts ran through my head, I felt Ziva shift in my arms, and looked down to see her bury her head once again into my chest, and I felt her tears fall on my shirt. I shifted my hold so that I could pull my wife closer to me, and gently rested my chin on the top of her head and whispered what encouraging words that I could.

Outside, I strove to remain strong; I needed to be Ziva's rock. Inside, however, I was fighting against the worst mental agony imaginable. As I held Ziva, I knew that the agony she was going through was even worse than mine- not only had our beautiful babies been kidnapped, the babies she had carried for nearly nine months, but she was being betrayed by her family once again. Still, I found it extremely difficult to remain stoic when I wanted nothing more than to leave Ziva with someone like Abby and go somewhere quiet to cry. However, crying would not bring our children back, and I squared my shoulders and guided Ziva carefully back to the bullpen.

Fifteen minutes later, Vance re-appeared at the top of the stairs, beckoning for us to come to we walked in, the icon indicating that a call was incoming flashed and the MTAC screen flickered to life. Looking up, I found myself looking at the Los Angeles control center.

The center itself was quite impressive, filled with screens, monitors and keyboards, but I wasn't McGeek, so none of that interested me. Rather, I found myself much more interested in the room's three occupants- two women and a man. The man, in his early thirties, looked like the love child of a surfer and a computer geek from the basement. He was thin and somewhat gangly with short, upswept blonde hair, blue eyes, square glasses and unbelievably enough, a Hawaiian- print shirt. He was rapidly tapping at a handheld device, and I guessed from the profiles I had read that he was Eric Beale, the LA intelligence analyst. Seated at the one of the ops center's many computers was a young woman around the techie's age. She was petite redhead, even smaller than Ziva, but her blue eyes held an intense, determined look- this had to be Nell Jones, the other analyst. But it was the woman standing in the center of the room that really caught my attention. She was extremely short in stature, and her lined face suggested an age of mid 60s. Her old-fashioned glasses served only to magnify her stern face. She looked like she belonged in a nineteenth century schoolhouse, but I knew better. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the famous Henrietta "Hetty" Lange, the LA operations manager, and  _not_ a woman to be crossed.

"Director Vance," Hetty said as soon as we were in view, "My team is preparing for the transport of the prisoner as we speak. They will not take long to get ready, but the federal prison where Nickolai is being held at is dragging its feet about releasing him. As soon as we are finished with this conference, I am going to make another call to pressure them to release him faster. As it stands right now, it will be around seven hours before the team lands in Washington DC."

 _Seven hours?_ I thought frantically as I glanced down at my watch. That would give us about fifteen hours to plan for the exchange. While fifteen hours would seem like a lot to most people, it wasn't for us, especially when trying to put together an operation. Still, we had no choice, and we would have to make do with what we had. My rambling thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Hetty's voice.

"My team will be flying to Pax River Naval Air base in a C-130, and they are scheduled to arrive at 19:00. If they will be earlier or later, they will contact you to let you know. Is there anything else that I can do for you and your people, Director Vance?" Hetty asked as she clasped her hands behind her back. Vance shook his head in response.

"No Hetty, that will be all for now. Thank you for your help." Hetty nodded.

"Very well. I wish you all luck in returning the children safely" she said solemnly. The screen went dark, and Director Vance turned back to us.

"Now we wait."

…..

_Seven hours later_

The tires of the C-130 squealed as they struggled to halt the huge plane. Gibbs, McGee, Ziva and I were standing at the Pax River Naval Air station, waiting for the giant cargo plane to unload its passengers. Finally the mighty aircraft screeched to a halt and slowly lowered its ramp, and five people exited the plane- four men and one woman. The first passenger that captured my attention was the man in the middle, dressed in a simple navy-blue coverall: prisoner clothing. It was none other than the infamous Nickolai Arieh himself. I had expected this man to be like his brother- cold, cruel and confident, but the man being led down the ramp was nothing like that. In fact, if I was to have passed him on the street, I would most likely have mistaken him for one of the many informants I had known in my time from the Baltimore PD- greasy, cowardly and always looking out for only himself. I couldn't imagine that this man had formally been a Mossad officer. His small, watery grey eyes nervously flickered back and forth from the LA team to us, his narrow, dark face was covered in sweat, and he was breathing hard, almost panting.

I glared hotly at the man at the man for whom my three children were kidnapped. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ziva tense up, and I gently rested my hand on her shoulder. The last thing we needed at the time was for Ziva to revert back to her assassin ways, especially if this man was the only way to get triplets back alive. As Nickolai's eyes finally fell on Ziva, they widened in shock, and he began to frantically ramble in Hebrew, straining towards my wife, whose hand had fallen to the butt of her gun. Before she could draw her weapon, however, the one of the LA team members shoved him into the van and shut the door before turning to us, shaking his head in amusement.

The man who had loaded Nickolai now stepped forward and shook Gibbs' hand warmly. He had an athletic build, close-cut brown hair, the ghost of a beard, piercing blue eyes, and the same "lazy wolf" demeanor of Gibbs: his stance seemed laid-back and easygoing, but his intense eyes continuously flicked around our surroundings, and I knew that he could be a very dangerous man if he wanted. He nodded to us.

"Special Agent G Callen" he said. He gestured to one of the men behind him. This man was built like a tank with a shaved head and hard, dark-brown eyes; he could have been Ensign Terranova's twin. "That's my partner, Special Agent Sam Hanna" Callen said as Sam and Gibbs shook hands. Sam growled a quick 'nice to meet you' in a thick Brooklyn accent before stepping back to allow the woman to come forward. Callen didn't get a chance to introduce her.

"I'm Special Agent Agent Blye Blye" she said curtly. She was tall, nearly my height, with dark brunette hair, graceful movements, and the oddest eyes I had seen- one was a warm amber color, but the other was jet black with a bluish ring surrounding it. Her attitude reminded me somewhat of Ziva's, and as I glanced towards my wife, I noticed that Ziva's face had gone somewhat hard, a sure sign of jealousy. I quickly grabbed her hand and she gave me a somewhat sheepish look as the last man stepped forward.

As the last man shook Gibbs' hand, I couldn't help but to smile a little. He looked like a mutt. His boyish face was framed with long, shaggy blonde hair, a stubby beard and baby blue eyes. He was well built, however, and I had no doubt that he was a competent agent. I noticed that Gibbs was scrutinized this guy closely- I guessed they hadn't met on his trip to LA three years ago.

"And that's DetectiveDeeks, Agent Blye's partner, our LAPD… liaison." Callen finished with a grin. As Deeks stepped back next to Agent Blye, I noticed that he seemed to not have noticed the joke- he was too busy watching his…  _partner._  My smile widened.  _Definitely_  the look I had given Ziva before we had married. Gibbs quickly introduced us as I brought my attention back to the task at hand.

"So, what's the plan?" Callen asked.

"Return to the Navy Yard, secure Arieh, and figure out what to do from there." Gibbs replied in his usual curt manner. The team nodded, and we loaded up.

Once we were back at the Yard, Nickolai, despite his vehement protests in English and Hebrew, was placed in an interrogation room, and the eight of us, plus Ducky, who had come as the physiological consultant and Director Vance gathered in MTAC, where Tim pulled up all information that we had on the case. Director Vance then stepped forward, motioning for McGee to put the triplets' pictures up on the screen, which caused both Ziva and me to stiffen. Vance turned to Callen's team.

"I don't know how much information on this case was given to you, but I will try to keep it short. At around 10:00 this morning, Agents DiNozzo and David's triplets, Caitlyn, Tali and Isaiah were abducted by a man known as Nazar Arieh." Nazar's old Mossad photo appeared on the screen, and I looked closely at it, not having seen the man before. He, like his brother, had a thin and narrow face, but where Nickolai was cowardly, he was confident and cold. "Arieh sent us information on his brother Nickolai, demanding his release in return for the triplets. As of right now, the only other information we have is that the exchange will take place at 11:00 tomorrow, and that Agent David will be contacted at 09:00 on the location. She has been told to come alone, and we suspect unarmed. Now, Dr. Mallard, you had something to add?" Vance turned to Ducky. The old ME stood up once again, and his lined face looked even more weathered than before.

"Thank you Director. For the sake of your team, Agent Callen, I am Dr. Donald Mallard, the medical examiner, as well as the psychologist. I cannot tell you much more about this Nazar than what Gibbs' team already knows- he is cold and heartless towards anyone who is not his brother, but he has a very strong bond with Nickolai, which would be the only reason why a terrorist such as himself would be willing to expose himself so. However, as I examined his files closer, I noticed one thing. Nazar wishes dearly for payback against those he believes responsible for Nikita's death- Mossad. While I do believe he will keep the triplets alive for the exchange, I also suspect that he will kill one of them, as a form of revenge. A trade-off, if you will; Nazar's brother was killed by Mossad, so what better a way to get revenge than to kill the biological grandchild of the former Mossad Director?" Ziva stood up quickly at this, fury radiating from her eyes.

" _What!"_ she cried. "Eli David was dead before the triplets had even been conceived! He had nothing to do with them!" Ducky raised his hands in a placating manner as I gently sat Ziva back down.

"Ziva, my dear, I am simply saying what I believe Nazar thinks. He is not sane, and his anger has clouded his reason. I am simply saying that measures must be taken to avoid the death of one of the triplets." He looked at Ziva with sad eyes, and she sank her head into her hands. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder as Gibbs stood up.

"As it stands, we don't have much to go on. We don't know where the triplets are being held, and it's likely they'll be moved. Our best bet is to prepare for the exchange and be ready to move the second Nazar calls Ziva." Deeks raised his hand. Gibbs nodded to him.

"You said that this guy demanded Agent David come alone. How do you plan on getting back up there?"

"That's where you come in." Gibbs replied. "Nazar knows what we look like; he will probably have surveillance on the building. We can set up a perimeter around the building, and possibly allow DiNozzo to go with Ziva, but if we go in there, he'll kill the triplets. But if your team was to go in, dressed as inspectors, he may not do anything, because he doesn't know anything." The LA team nodded and Gibbs continued.

"So now, our best plan of action is to gather weapons and wait. I know that no one here is going to go home or to a hotel, so the bullpen will be open for sleeping." As Gibbs said his next words, his eyes drilled into us.

"I know it will be difficult, but we all need to rest. We need to be on top of our game tomorrow, or the consequences will be dire."

We all nodded and headed down to the bullpen. After a lengthy discussion on weapons and tactics, we finally broke apart and went to find a place to sleep. Gibbs had requested blankets for us, and Ziva and I went over and lay down between her desk and mine, pulling the soft material over our bodies. As silence set over the bullpen, I closed my eyes, fighting the sinking feeling in my gut. Tomorrow would determine everything.

Tomorrow, we would find out if our babies would live or die.


	20. We Need a Hero

_Ziva’s POV_

That night, I slept poorly. If I was not being kept awake by horrible thoughts of the triplets’ fate, I was plagued in my sleep with one reoccurring, terrifying nightmare. In it, the triplets were being held captive by one faceless man, while I was held back by another. To my horror, Tony lay on the ground between us with a pool of blood rapidly spreading from his broken body and his eyes glassy and staring. The triplets were crying weakly, and I struggled with all my might to free myself from my captor. In my dream, somehow I believed if I could just break free and get to them, my babies would be alright. But no matter how ard I struggled, I couldn’t break free, and to my horror, the man grabbed Kate and held a combat knife to her tiny throat.

“Revenge” he hissed as the blade began to bite down…

I shot up into a sitting position, panting and sweating, tears rolling down my face. Looking around me, I slowly came to the realization of where I was. All around me, the floor of the bullpen was covered with sleeping agents. Next to me, Tony gave a soft moan, his face taught with agony. As I looked down at my sleeping husband, I moved my hand to wake him up, but then he relaxed, and I decided to let him rest- at least one of us needed to get sleep. Knowing that I would not be able to sleep again with the nightmare sharp in my mind, I rolled out from under the blanket, careful not to wake my sleeping husband, and then checked my watch. 06:00. Three hours until Nazar’s call, and five hours until the rescue.

After stretching, I showered in the biohazard showers, dressed and was heading back to the bullpen when I suddenly stopped and stared out the window facing the bullpen, my thoughts wandering as I watched the bustling DC landscape. Suddenly, a voice behind me spoke softly.

“That’s a very beautiful view, almost nicer than the one we have in LA.” I turned to see Agent Blye standing slightly behind me and to my right. She stepped up next to me, her dual-colored eyes flashing in the early morning light. I stayed quiet, not too sure what to say to her. It was Agent Blye who broke the silence first.

“I’m not a mother” she continued quietly. “So I know that I can’t even begin to imagine the pain that you and your husband are going through Agent David. But I cannot think of anything more horrible than kidnapping innocent babies. However, you can be sure of this: I will not stop until that bastard is no longer a threat and all three of your children are safely in your arms.” Agent Blye turned towards me, and the DC sunrise flared in her eyes, making them look like they were flaming for a second. The light was quick to fade, but I had it- this woman was willing to put her life on the line for three infants she had never met before. Tears stung my eyes, and I was only able to manage a small smile in return. Agent Blye reached out and rested her hand briefly on my shoulder before walking back into the bullpen where the others were beginning to wake. As the agents began to start their day, Agent Blye and Detective Deeks volunteered to take breakfast orders and left with Abby and Ducky, both of whom had stayed overnight as well.

The rest of us began to prepare for the inevitable confrontation.

…..

At exactly 09:00, my cell phone, which I had been staring intently at for the past hour, started to ring. In my haste to answer, I fumbled with the small device and nearly dropped it before managing to recover it. I took a deep breath, leaned into Tony, who had come over to my desk, flipped open the phone and put it on speakerphone.

“Agent David.” My voice wavered, and I heard a cold chuckle on the other end of the line.

“Shalom Ziva. How was your night?” Nazar crooned sarcastically. All around me, fists began to clench, even from the LA team.

“Save me the pleasantries, Nazar. Where are you going to be?” I snarled. Nazar just chuckled.

“Patience, my little Zeev. Do you have my brother?”

“Yes.”

“For the sake of your children, you had better not be lying. Very well. Bring my brother to the swings at Avalon Playground in Fort Stanton Park at 11 o’ clock. As I am a generous man, I will allow Agent DiNozzo to accompany you and my brother to the meet. However, you are to come unarmed. That means you do not bring your side arms _and_ your backups. Also, you are not to have any other agents accompany you. Remember that I know what the members of your team look like. If you fail to follow these instructions, the infants will die. 11 o’ clock, and not a minute later. Shalom.” The dial tone buzzed harshly, and I quickly shut my phone.  

“McGee, bring up Avalon Playground” Gibbs barked. McGee wasted no time in bringing up a map, and I groaned inwardly- the playground was a tactical nightmare. While most of the area surrounding the playground was open, there were trees in the nearby park for the brothers to disappear into, or for a shooter to hide in. The open area also allowed for a shooter on one of the nearby houses a nearly unlimited view of the area, and the nearby street allowed for a quick getaway by car. However, by far the biggest problem was the fact that, because it was July, the playground and the adjacent outdoor pool were going to be filled with many innocent people, most of whom would be children, all of whom would be in danger. Gibbs began to study the map intensely, and I could see that he too didn’t like what he saw.

“Callen,” he finally growled, “what do you think?” Agent Callen strode up to the plasma, and, after a moment of consideration, pointed to a clearing area to the right of the playground.

“Sam, still have those wide receiver skills?” he asked with a chuckle. Agent Hanna just grunted, but a small smirk crossed his face. Agent Callen nodded, and then he continued.

“Since Arieh won’t allow you and McGee within sight of the playground, you'll have to be hidden from view. Now, I know you’ll want the high ground, so I’ll leave the rooftops to you. Sam and I will take the clearing between the swings and the pool- we’ll just be two buddies playing football. Agent Blye and Detective Deeks will be playing a couple,” Agent Blye muttered a quick ‘of course’, which Callen pointedly ignored. “They’ll be in the pavilion, but it’d be better if they had something like a dog- it’d make the guise more convincing.” Callen finished. I was about to suggest that they use Engel when McGee spoke up.

“You can use my dog,” he said. Looking back at us, he continued. “Tony, Ziva, I know that you probably wanted to use Engel, but if we use him, we run the risk of him recognizing you and blowing their cover. Plus, Jethro is military trained, so he’ll stay put, or can even attack if he needs to.” I saw Callen’s eyebrow shoot up at the mention of Jethro’s name, but he made no comment. Instead, he turned to Gibbs, who gave a barely perceptible nod.

“Let’s go” the silver-haired leader growled.

…..

One long hour later, Tony, Nikolai and I were sitting on the stairs leading into the Avalon Playground. We were a half hour early to the meeting, but the combination of not wanting to be late and not being able to wait any longer had brought us here this early.

Although I knew I wasn’t supposed to, I made a quick glance around us to double-check on the LA team members around us. The LA team had arrived ten minutes before us to avoid any suspicion, and they were now in place. To our left, Agent Blye and Detective Deeks, along with McGee’s German Shepherd Jethro were lounging in the shade of the circular pavilion’s doorway, laughing and kissing like true lovers. On our right, in the clearing area between the playground and the pool, were tossing a football back and forth, laughing and joking as if they were nothing more than two good neighborhood friends. I looked back to the swing set, which was still only occupied by two children.

I looked back at Nikolai, who was sitting between Tony and me. He had not said a word since we had brought him here, and his face showed no emotion. I gritted my teeth as I watched this pathetic excuse of a man for whom our children had been taken. I wanted nothing more than to be able to spend five minutes alone with him, but I knew that would not solve our problems. I settled on clenching my hands into fists, and suddenly heard a sharp intake of breath from Tony.

Looking over, I saw that my husband was staring at something. “Ziva,” he murmured, “The couple coming from the pool area, pushing the strollers.” I looked where he was looking, and I saw the most horrifying and yet relieving sight I had ever seen. Nazar and an unknown woman approaching the swing set, pushing the triplets between them in a three-baby stroller.

I rose from the steps quickly, startling Nikolai. I muttered a quick ‘he’s here’; it looked like I was speaking to Tony, but I was actually alerting the LA team to Nazar’s presence. Four voices chimed ‘got it’ into my earwig, and I straightened my shoulders. It was time.

As we neared Nazar and the woman, I took a second to look at my babies. To my extreme relief, all three triplets, while clearly terrified of their captors, looked to be okay, although I knew that they would need to be looked at after the rescue. Nazar caught my eye again, and then beckoned for me to follow him. We followed the triplets’ kidnapper to the clearing where Sam and Callen were playing football. Once there, we started pushing Nikolai towards his brother, but then Nazar put up his hand.

“Stop” he snarled arrogantly. His cold grey eyes scored his brother, and spoke in Russian. “ _Brother, are you alright?_ ” Nikolai snorted.

“ _Those fools have the gall to keep me cooped up in a cargo plane and then an interrogation room for a day, and then send me with the Mossad bitch and her Gentile husband to meet you. What do you think brother?!?”_ I snorted, but said nothing. Even Nazar rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“Very well. Gala,” he said to the woman, “take out one of the girls and the boy over to the DiNozzos. We will keep the third here for insurance” Gala, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman who clearly was frightened by Nazar awkwardly picked up Isaiah and Tali and started to scurry over to us. As soon as she met us, Tony stepped forward and grasped our children tenderly, tears running down his handsome face as he kissed his two children. As Isaiah and Tali’s cries quieted, Gala backed up quickly, returning to Nazar’s side. By now, Nazar had taken Kate, who was squalling in fear.

“Good. Now, Ziva, I want you to walk with my brother towards me, but move slowly. No sudden movements. Once my brother is by my side, I will give you your third child.” Tony looked towards me, concern written across his face. He clearly wanted me to stay away from this man, but we had no choice. I nodded and, grasping Nikolai’s shoulder with more force than necessary, I pulled him towards Nazar.

When we were five feet away, Nazar suddenly caught sight of Sam, who had been accidentally staring at us. Sam was quick to turn back at Callen, and I hoped that Nazar would just pass them off as curious bystanders. However, Nazar’s eyes narrowed and he swung back to me.

“I thought I told you not bring any agents!” he roared. To my complete terror, Nazar pulled out a large combat knife and held it to Kate’s throat, bringing my nightmare to a horrible reality. I screamed and lunged forward, but was suddenly grabbed by Nikolai, who held me back with a surprising amount of strength. He pulled my head up, while Nazar smiled cruelly. All around us, people were screaming and running away, but I only had eyes for my baby.

“Now Ziva,” he hissed, “I will get my revenge for Nikita.” Tears ran down my face as the knife began to sink…

Suddenly there was a blur, and Nazar was knocked to the ground. There was a brief scuffle, and then, to my surprise, Agent Blye emerged from the ground, clutching the screaming Kate to her chest. My relief was short-lived, however, when I saw that Agent Blye’s left arm had a bloody gash running from her shoulder to her elbow, as well as two stab wounds in the same shoulder. Gasping, and rapidly losing blood, Agent Blye sank back to the ground, desperately trying to protect Kate with her own body as Nazar, whose face was contorted with rage, grasped her by the hair and pulled her head back, raising his knife.

“You bitch” he roared. Those were his last words. Before the knife had sunk an inch lower, there was whining sniper shot. Nazar’s eyes rolled up in his sockets, the knife dropped from his numb fingers, and he sunk to the ground, bleeding profusely from single bullet hole in his forehead.  

Next to me, Nikolai shrieked in horror, releasing me and rushing to his brother. Screaming in fury, he suddenly grabbed the knife, and started towards Kenis, who was lying on her back and gasping in pain. Nikolai froze, however, when Deeks, whose blue eyes were radiating fury, pressed his gun barrel against Nikolai’s temple.

“Give me one reason” Deeks snarled. Nikolai immediately dropped the knife, and then slowly raised his hands above his head. While Deeks, Sam and Callen detained the last Arieh brother and Gala, who had dropped to the ground the minute the shot had been fired, I rushed over to Agent Blye, who was still lying on the ground. As I approached, she handed Kate, who was completely unharmed despite her ordeal, to me. I embraced my daughter, tears running down my face. I then took off my own shirt, and wearing only a sports bra, pressed the material into Agent Blye’s gaping wounds.

Gibbs, who had taken the sniper shot from one of the rooftops across the streets, and McGee, who had been waiting in an unmarked car, came rushing up to me. McGee wasted no time in calling an ambulance, while took out his NCIS jacket and tied it around Agent Blye’s arm. He then draped another jacket over me and continued to press on Agent Blye’s wound alongside me. Suddenly I felt something brush against my arm, and looked down to see Agent Blye grasping at my arm with her uninjured hand. I leaned down as she struggled to speak.

“Are they all safe?” she rasped.

I nodded. “Yes, Agent Blye, they are all safe, thanks to you.” A small smile crossed her face.

“Good. I kept my promise.” She murmured. Then her head sank back to the ground, her eyes closed, and her body went limp.


	21. Peace Again

_Tony’s POV_

While Callen and Sam had took Nikolai and Gala into custody, Detective Deeks rushed over to Agent Blye’s side, calling her name frantically. Once he reached his partner’s side, Ziva stepped away, allowing Detective Deeks to aide Agent Blye. A second later I heard the familiar yelp of an ambulance siren, and in less than a minute the red-and-white vehicle roared up to the curb. The paramedics quickly stabilized Agent Blye as best they could and loaded her into the back of the ambulance. Before anyone could stop him, Detective Deeks leapt into the ambulance alongside his partner, yelling to Sam and Callen that he would ride to the hospital with her. The paramedics closed the rear doors, and the boxy vehicle sped off.

As soon as the ambulance was gone, I rushed over to my wife’s side while Tali and Isaiah whined piteously. Ignoring the chaos surrounding us, we embraced our babies, tears running down both our faces as we held Kate, Tali and Isaiah close, murmuring words of love to our reunited family. Suddenly I felt a light touch on my shoulder, and looked up to see Gibbs standing over us. I noticed that his sniper rifle was no longer slung over his shoulder.

“Ducky’s here to look at them” he said softy. I nodded and carefully stood, holding Kate and Tali to my chest while Ziva embraced Isaiah. As we neared the triplets’ adopted grandfather, Kate reached out with her hands, whimpering, and clearly wanting to be held. Gibbs reached out and held her close, rocking her back and forth while murmuring, “Shh, shh Kate. Everything’s alright, Grandpa’s gonna keep your safe, sweetie. Let’s go see your Uncle Ducky.” Soothed by Gibbs’ gentle voice, Kate was quick to settle down and cuddled into her grandpa’s chest. As we walked over to the ME van, I looked over to my leader and thought I saw a tear run down his lined face, but before I could look any closer, he turned away.

As we approached Ducky, I could see that the Scotsman was not so subtle in his relief. As the old ME gently examined our children, I could just see tears of joy running down his weathered face. Despite the tears, Ducky kept up his typical steady ramble as he looked over the triplets, and to our immense relief, declared all three of them to be perfectly fine.

“They’re hungry, tired and still extremely frightened,” Ducky said, “but they are perfectly healthy. A nice warm bath, a good meal and a full night’s sleep should be all that they need to recover.” He leaned down to give Tali, who was still lying calmly in his arms, a gentle kiss on the cheek. Tali responded by giggling happily and placing her tiny hands on her adoptive uncle’s cheek. Ducky smiled gently and handed Tali back to me before leaving with Jimmy to retrieve Nazar’s body. Gibbs watched his old friend go, and then turned back to us.

“Go home” he said quietly. “Go home and be with your kids. I’ll call you if anything comes up.”

I nodded and took Kate, who was now fast asleep, from him. Ziva spoke up.

“What about Agent Blye?”

Gibbs rested his hand on her shoulder. “I’ll call you. Go home Ziver.”

…..

Once we had arrived at the house, Ziva wasted no time in prepping baths for the triplets while I undressed them. Ziva had put on an old shirt of mine to cover up Agent Blye’s blood, which she hadn’t had time to wash off in the ensuing chaos.

As we bathed the triplets, we had to walk around carefully to avoid Engel, who refused to let the three out of his sight ever since we had arrived home. In fact, when our neighbors, (who had watched him while we were trying to rescue the three), brought him back home to us, he immediately made a beeline for “his” babies, whining and doing his best to lick them clean, all the while shooting us accusatory glances. It was clear what he was thinking: _If **I** had been there, none of this would have happened!_

Once we had finished with the triplets’ baths, we dried them off, dressed them in soft, clean clothes, and brought them into the nursery to be feed, all the while accompanied by the overly helpful Engel. Kate, Tali and Isaiah all fed greedily; it was clear that they hadn’t been properly feed while they had been held hostage by Nazar. I gritted my teeth at the grim thought, thinking once again of how lucky Nazar was to be dead.

Within in minutes, the three, utterly worn out from their fearful experience, began to nod off. Tali was the first to completely succumb to her exhaustion: her eyelids fluttered shut and her lips parted, losing their grip on her bottle. Almost as if they had rehearsed it, Kate and Isaiah yawned in unison and shut their eyes, drifting off into a peaceful sleep. I gently pulled the bottles away from Isaiah and Kate’s mouths, burped them, and then laid them in their cribs while Ziva did the same with Tali.

Watching our ‘brood’ sleep soundly, I was overcome with emotion as I thought once again of how close we had come to losing them. My throat closed up as Ziva reached down to brush her fingers over the triplets’ cheeks with one hand and grasped my hand with her other one. We stayed like this for several minutes, comfortable in the reunion with our children, until Ziva suddenly began to scratch at her chest. She removed my old shirt, revealing the blood that she was covered in.

“I need a shower, but I am afraid that your shirt is ruined” she remarked sheepishly. I ran my hand through her frazzled hair.

“It’s perfectly alright, Sweetheart, don’t worry about it. Go get cleaned up- I’ll watch the triplets.” Ziva nodded and left as I settled with a contented sigh into one of the rocking chair.

…..

Several hours later, just as we had finished supper, our home phone rang. Ziva excused herself, and went over to answer it. She looked at the caller ID, and was quick to pick it up.

“Shalom Gibbs… yes… yes… oh, that is wonderful… yes, I will. Toda, and shalom.” Ziva placed the phone back in its cradle and turned back to me, her face full of joy.

“That was Gibbs, calling from the hospital. Agent Blye just woke up. She’s doing much better apparently. She is sore, and very weak, but she is doing fine.”

I grinned at this, relieved to hear the good news, and then found myself yawning. The stress from the rescue had finally gotten to me as my earlier adrenaline rush wore off, and I remembered that I was not as young as I had been. Ziva and I cleared the dishes, moved two sleeping bags into the nursery, sinking gratefully into a peaceful slumber.

…..

_Ziva’s POV_

The next day, after lunch, I drove alone to Bethesda Hospital, leaving Tony, Kate, Tali and Isaiah at the house. I was the only one who was familiar with Agent Blye, so Tony had opted out of the trip.

When I reached Agent Blye’s room, I was not at all surprised to see that Agent Detective Deeks was there, and from his appearance, it was clear that he had spent the entire night by his partner’s side. As for Agent Blye, despite the multiple tubes feeding fluids, medicine and blood into her body, the nasal cannula, and the combination bandage/sling her arm was encased in, she looked like she was doing quite well. Her dual-colored eyes were bright and she was arguing adamantly with Detective Deeks about her hospital Jello.

“You ate my Jello when I was shot!” Detective Deeks cried with mock indignation.

“So?!? Didn’t your mother ever tell you to be nice to women?” Agent Blye retorted.

“To _women_ , yes…” Detective Deeks muttered. Agent Blye’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“You are sooo very lucky that you’re sitting on my bad side right now Detective Deeks. Oh, hello Agent David!” Agent Blye’s tone changed considerably when she spotted me.

I smiled as I entered; truly glad to see that she was doing so much better. I pulled out one of the extra folding chairs from the supply cabinet next to Agent Blye’s bed and sat down. Detective Deeks gave me a quick “hello”, and then announced that he was going to go out to lunch- clearly he wanted to give us some time alone.

“You’d better have a new Jello cup for me when you get back!” Agent Blye called after his retreating figure. Detective Deeks just waved in response. Agent Blye sighed, and then shifted her body into a more comfortable position, wincing as the movement jostled her arm. Noticing  my stare, she gave me a crooked grin.

“Nazar got me good. The gash went all the way to the bone, from my shoulder to my elbow, not to mention to the two four-inch deep stab wounds below my clavicle. Took several hundred stitches and three hours of surgery to close everything up and I lost two and a half pints of blood.  I’m going to need several months of rehabilitation, and even then I may not regain the full use of my arm. It’s a good thing that I’m right-handed.” Agent Blye stated matter-of-factly. I immediately felt horrible.

“Agent Blye, I am so sorry, I…” Agent Blye cut me off.

“Alright, stop right there. First off, please call me Kensi. Second, this wasn’t _your fault_. It was _Nazar_ who stabbed me, not you. My job, by its nature, is a hazardous one, and it does involve taking risks that can put me in harm’s way, and I knew this long ago when I became an agent. Third, I made a promise to keep your babies safe, no matter what. Finally, if it weren’t for you Agent David, I would be _dead._ Your actions saved my life, and I’m indebted to you.” Kensi stared levelly at me, and I found myself idly wondering how scary she was when she got _really_ mad. I smiled at her.

“Alright Kensi, but _you_ have to call me Ziva. Only the Director calls me Agent David. And Gibbs, when he is really angry with me.”

“Deal” Kensi said with a wide grin. “How are the triplets doing?”

“Safe and sound, thanks to you and your teammates. They are at home with Tony right now.” Kensi paused at this, and suddenly she asked something startling.

“Ziva, I want to ask you something personal. If you don’t want to answer, that’s fine. How does your marriage with Tony work, especially with the fact that you two are partners at work? I mean, if you don’t want to go into…”

“No, it is fine. Being married to Tony can be extremely difficult at times, and just like any married couple, we do fight. But I believe it is because we are partners and because we have faced so much together that we are able to make things work.” Suddenly I grinned, remembering something. “Gibbs would never let a fight affect our work anyway. It’s a new rule of his- keep it out of the workplace.” Kensi, obviously curious, asked about Gibbs’ rules, and I explained them to her. But as I explained them to her, I could tell that her mind was far away- most likely focusing on a certain male agent who had eaten her Jello earlier.

We talked for a little while longer, and then I realized just how late it was getting. I got up to leave, giving the usual “get well” speech, and was on my way out the door when I thought of something and turned around.

“Kensi,” I said quietly, “You asked me about Tony for a reason, so I am just going to say this: Only you can know who the right person is for you, and no one, not a single person, can say otherwise. But just remember who stayed with you all night long, and who would give his all for you without a second thought. Take care, and be sure to stop by the Navy Yard before you leave for LA.” I turned to go, and nearly ran into Detective Deeks, who was carrying two cups of lime Jello. We exchanged a few words, and then he went into the room, announcing that he had brought “attainment” for his earlier mistake.

As I left, I looked back one more time. Kensi was smiling brightly as she bantered with Detective Deeks, and her eyes never left his scruffy face. The last thing that I saw before turning away was Kensi’s hand resting on Deeks’. 


	22. Preparations

_Ziva’s POV_

It was now September, two months after the triplets’ kidnapping. The triplets were now six months old, growing fast, and had even learned to crawl. Unfortunately, with their new skill, came more trouble. Ever since the kidnapping, Tony and I had been extremely reluctant to leave the three at the nursery until it was moved to a more safe location in the building and security was increased. Despite all this, we often took the triplets out to the bullpen whenever we had paperwork, and that was where the three loved to get into the most trouble, and thanks to their new-found skill they were able to move around quite swiftly.

Today, of course, was no exception. I had placed the triplets on their backs on a blanket, surrounded by a multitude of toys. Within seconds, Tali, who was the most easily bored and fascinated with new things, had flipped over onto her stomach, crawled off the blanket and into the main area between our desks. It had only taken our middle daughter a few days of bumping around to figure out the complete layout of the bullpen, and now she maneuvered around it so confidently that even I had a difficult time remembering that she was blind.

As soon as she took off, I started to search for a pair of keys to keep her occupied; worried (and rightly so) that she would quickly wander off to God-knows-where in the building. Before I could find anything, Gibbs walked in, saw Tali, and pulled something out of his desk. I smiled when I saw what it was. Gibbs knelt down in front of Tali, rattling a set of oversized plastic toy keys. Tali squeaked with sheer delight, smacking the keys on the ground before sticking them into her mouth and chewing on them. Gibbs cracked one of his rare smiles and then lifted Tali into the safety of his lap before continuing on his paperwork. Satisfied Tali was safe, I checked to see that Kate and Isaiah were still on the blanket, which they were, and then turned back to my computer screen just in time to see a chat bubble from Kensi pop up.

Ever since the kidnapping, Kensi and I had become fast friends and we chatted online on a daily basis. I had sent her photos of the triplets crawling yesterday, and smiled as her screen name popped up.

**_GearGalLA:_ ** _Hey Ziva, is it a paperwork day today?_

**_DCIsraeli82:_ ** _Yes, tons of it. But at least I can spend some time with the triplets. How about you?_

**_GearGalLA:_** _We’re finishing up a case here. I got those photographs you sent me yesterday- the triplets are really cute! I can’t believe they’re already five months old and_ crawling!

 ** _DCIsraeli82:_** _Oh, believe me, they are._ As I typed these words, I glanced over at the blanket, groaning softly when I saw that Kate was taking off the bullpen’s exit. Chuckling with amusement, I scooped my oldest daughter up and placed her back on the blanket, where she gave an annoyed huff and promptly tried to escape once again. Accepting defeat, I sighed and picked her up, placing her on my lap and giving her a stuffed toy to play with. Satisfied with the new arrangement, Kate began to chew on the toy’s leg, gazing solemnly around the room. I checked once more on Isaiah, who was still happily absorbed in his toys, and then turned back to my computer screen.

**_GearGalLA:_ ** _Are you still there?_

**_DCIsraeli82:_ ** _Yes, sorry, Kate was trying to jump the coop._

**_GearGalLA:_** Fly _the coop, Ziva. It sounds like you have your hands very full!_

**_DCIsraeli82:_ ** _Yes, I do. And you sound like Tony._

**_GearGalLA:_ ** _God, I hope not. I’d never want my voice to be that deep. ;) How’s he doing, by the way?_

**_DCIsraeli82:_ ** _Fine, although he is not too happy about the triplets crawling._

**_GearGalLA:_ ** _I bet not._

**_DCIsraeli82:_ ** _How is Deeks doing?_

**_GearGalLA:_ ** _He’s fine, I guess…_

**_DCIsraeli82:_ ** _I would press more, but Isaiah has decided that he is bored, and I do need to get back to my paperwork. But do not think that you are off the wall, Kensi. I am a very persistent woman._

**_GearGalLA:_** _Off the_ hook.

**_DCIsraeli82: Goodbye_ ** _Kensi._

**_GearGalLA:_ ** _Goodbye Ziva!_

Rolling my eyes, I shut off my chat and looked over to the blanket just in time to see Isaiah crawl away and over to Tony. I expected him to start to grunt- he did this whenever he wanted to be picked up- but to my complete surprise, he tried something much more complicated- he tried to stand up! Tony was so deeply immersed in his paperwork that he noticed nothing, but Isaiah was extremely determined to get onto his Aba’s lap on his own. He grabbed the bottom edge of Tony’s desk with both hands and then began to struggle to pull himself to his feet.

“Tony!” I hissed, trying to get his attention, to no avail. Isaiah fell over, and I feared that my husband had missed the iconic moment, but Isaiah was not easily put off. By now, Gibbs and McGee had noticed our son’s efforts, unlike Kate and Isaiah were completely ignoring their sibling.

“Tony! I snapped, more forcefully than before.

“ _What_ Ziva!?” Tony snapped back, looking annoyed, “I…”

“Look down!” I interrupted, pointing down at Isaiah. Tony looked over, and his eyes widened as he saw what his son was trying to do. However, at this point our son decided that he had enough, so he plopped back down on the floor, reached out with his arms and started to make his characteristic “uh-uh-uh” noise to be picked up. Tony willingly obliged, scooping Isaiah and bouncing him on his knee, causing Isaiah to chortle with joy. I smiled at the heartwarming scene, but then caught sight of Gibbs’ face. He raised an eyebrow and I sighed in response. It was time to get back to work.

…..

Several long hours later, I had finally completed most of paperwork. Checking everything over, I was pleased to see that the remaining bits and pieces just needed authorizing signatures, which would have to happen the next day. I gratefully shut down my computer and glanced around the bullpen, which was only occupied by Tony and me. I glanced down at my watch: 17:30, and then stretched in my chair, grunting as my vertebra popped. I walked over to Tony’s desk and was somewhat surprised to see that he _was_ actually doing paperwork- in fact; he was concentrating on it so hard that he jumped slightly when I rested my hand on his warm shoulder.

“God, Zi! You and your ninja skills!” he yelped. I rolled my eyes in response.

“Honestly Tony, a herd of elephants could have stormed through here and you would not hear them! How long do you think you will be on the rest of your paperwork?” I asked. Tony groaned as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Ten, fifteen minutes more, I guess. Not too long. You going to pick up the kids?”

“Yes, I will…” but before I could say another word, Abby came hurtling into the bullpen, dragging a rather bedraggled-looking McGee behind her.

“ZivaZivaZivathebridesmaiddresseshavearrivedanthey’resoprettyandyou’vegottogowithmeFridaytotrythemonwithmyotherbridesmaidespleasepleaseplease!” Abby gulped in a huge breath of air, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, her face alight with hopefulness. Tony and Tim both looked at one another and shrugged.

 _“What?!?”_ I asked.

Abby took another deep breath, but before she could begin, Tim gently laid his hand on her shoulder and murmured, “Abby, I think Ziva needs you to slow down.” Abby looked sheepish.

“Oh yeah, right. Sorry ‘bout that Ziva.” Despite that, Abby started to bounce again. “Ziva, Ziva, Ziva, Jane called me today and said that my bridesmaid dresses are ready to be fitted on Friday! Can you come? Please say yes!” Abby clapped her hands rapidly together, leaping into the air as she did so. I smiled at her enthusiasm.

“Of course Abby. I can go after work on Friday.” Abby squealed with joy and embraced me in a near bone-crushing hug.

…..

Three days later, Abby and I drove to Shearton’s Dress Botique, a dress shop owned by a close friend of Abby’s. Abby had told me that Tim’s sister, Sara, and Abby’s college friend, Carol Wilson, were to be the other two bridesmaids, and that they would be meeting us at the shop. As Abby cheerfully chattered on about life, I glanced over at her slightly protruding four-month-pregnant belly. Despite a thorough ultrasound at three months, the sex of Abby’s unborn child was yet unknown. Abby, however, had been completely unbothered by this fact, simply stating that she was happy the baby was healthy, and had proudly posted her ultrasound pictures all over her land and her office. I knew that she was going to be a wonderful mother.

As we pulled into the parking lot of Shearton’s Dress Boutique, I smiled I couldn’t help but to smile at the quaint shop. A little over a year ago, Ihad been the one getting _my_ wedding dress here. As soon as we walked in, a bell twinkled and a rich female voice out “Be there in a minute!” I took the opportunity to glance around the shop. The dresses on display were extremely beautiful, even to me, a woman who tended to avoid dresses like the plague.

“Abby!” the female voice called out to see an African-American woman, no more than five feet tall, in her late 60s, come rushing out from a back room and embrace Abby in a huge hug. Charismatic, quirky, bold and kind, Jane Shearton was a dressmaker extraordinaire who spoke her mind and loved her art.

“Ziva, honey, how are you? And how is that handsome man of yours?” Jane wasted no time in embracing me in a hug that rivaled Abby’s as I chuckled at her words.

“I am fine, and so is he. We have triplets now- two girls and a boy, they are five months old now.” I responded. Jane’s lined face lit up with joy, and she clapped her hands.

“Triplets? How absolutely wonderful! It always makes me so happy to hear good news like that! And now I get to make another wonderful person happy!” Jane chirped, turning back to Abby, who was beaming. Before we could say a word, the shop’s bell twinkled once, then twice, as two women walked in. The first one I knew well: Sara McGee shared her brother’s round face and kind eyes. The other woman I didn’t know personally, but I could easily guess who she was: Carol Wilson, Abby college friend. Despite her dwarfism, Carol had a confident demeanor- she was clearly a woman who got her way. Carol hung her purse on one of the hooks near the door, and then clapped her hands together sharply, raising an eyebrow when we all turned to look at her.

“Well?” she asked in a business-like tone. “Don’t we all have dresses to try on?” Abby covered her mouth with her hand and turned to Jane, who was grinning.

“I like her!” Jane said as she disappeared into the back room. Moments later she reappeared, this time holding a large stack of dark teal-colored dresses. I mentally sighed with relief, immensely glad that the dresses were not black. Jane handed us our dresses, and then with a cheerful “Try ‘em on!” she pushed us towards the dressing room.

Moments later we all emerged, and I got to see my dress fully for the first time. To my surprise, I actually liked wearing it. The dress flowed naturally below the waist, but was fitted above. The dress itself was strapless, but it came with a small shawl-like jacket that opened at the front. As I looked over at Sara and Carol, I smiled; they booth looked absolutely stunning. I looked around the room for Abby, and then realized she was missing.

“Jane, where is Abby?” I asked. Jane said nothing, but just smiled and pointed to the dressing room where Abby was emerging. My jaw dropped.

It was no great surprise to me that Abby’s wedding dress was black, but I couldn’t help but to stare at how absolutely gorgeous she looked in it. The dress was strapless, and fitted nicely above the waist, accentuating Abby’s shapely body while flowing into a wide hem below. Abby looked up, and for once in her life, she looked uncertain.

“What do you think?” she asked quietly. I opened my mouth to speak, but Carol beat me.

“What do I think? Damn, hon, you look _sexy!!!_ ” Abby grinned, and the rest of us laughed. Sara nodded.

“You look amazing Abby. My brother is one lucky man” she said with a smile. Abby thanked her, and then turned to me. I could see in her eyes that she was looking for my approval, and I felt tears gather as I realized how important my opinion was to her. Instead of speaking, I came over and hugged her, careful not to crush the dress.

“You look gorgeous Abby. Tim is the luckiest man alive, and so is your baby.” I whispered. Abby held me tight.

“Thank you Ziva.”

 


	23. McAbby Wedding

_Tony’s POV_

McGee sat unmoving in a chair, his face as white as a sheet, his eyes blank and staring.

“Breathe, McGroom, or you’re gonna pass out.” I growled to his reflection in the mirror I was adjusting my tuxedo with. We were in a church’s dressing room, preparing for the McGee/Scuito wedding. The triplets were being babysat by a neighbor .  “I’m not going to carry you off the altar if you pass out, you got that?” I smirked, and then groaned as Tim’s face got even whiter- something I thought was impossible. Eventually he spoke.

“Tony, what in the hell am I doing? I’m going to mess this all up! I’ll trip, or forget my vows, or screw up the kiss, or puke on the altar… oh shit, what if I just mess up everything?” At that moment, Gibbs strode in and smacked Tim, hard, on the back of the head.

“Keep talking like that, and it will happen eventually McGee. Just remember the amazing woman that you’re going to marry, will ya?” Gibbs growled. Being Gibbs, he had a cup of coffee in hand, and as he finished his speech, he took a swift sip before making a face and hurling the Styrofoam cup into the trashcan. Tim and I dove for cover as the brown liquid splashed as the cup hit the bottom of the bin. “Can’t even get a decent cup of coffee in this church” he growled as he turned and strode out of the room. Tim and I looked at each other.

“I’m doomed” he whispered.

“Yep” I replied.

…..

_Ziva’s POV_

“OhmygodohmygodohmygodI’mgettingmarriedohmygod!”

I rolled my eyes at my reflection in the mirror as I applied a thin layer of lipstick. Abby, who looked ready to explode, was frantically pacing behind me as Jane struggled to put the finishing adjustments on Abby’s dress.

“Abby, for the love of silk and lace, will you just sit down!” the exasperated dressmaker yelled. Carol passed behind me and stood on a stepstool to apply her makeup.

“Told you we should have tranquilized her” the small woman muttered as she added eyeliner. I smothered a laugh, and then went over to Abby from pacing. I grasped my friend’s shoulders and gently guided her over to a chair.

“Sit” I commanded. Abby promptly sat, but continued to fidget. “Stop moving or you will be poked by Jane’s pins!” I hissed.

Jane shot me a grateful look and then immediately swept in to finish her adjustments. Suddenly, Abby looked up at me, tears gathering in her green eyes. _Uh-oh._ I thought. _The pregnancy hormones have hit. Again._ Sure enough, she started to sob, tears running down her face, leaving trails of mascara, and her chest heaved as she gasped for air. I held back a sigh and reached for a nearby box of tissues. This was the third time this day that Abby had started to cry for no apparent reason, and although I felt bad for her, I was also starting to get irritated. But, remembering my own pregnancy, I knew that Abby could not help the tears. I pushed my frustration aside and resigned myself to handing her tissue after tissue. Fortunately Abby was quick to pull herself together. She took a few shaky breaths, blew her nose, and wiped her eyes.

“Better?” I asked. She nodded, sniffling.

“S-sorry Ziva. I d-don’t know what came over me. I bet I sound really p-p-pathetic, don’t I?”

“Abby, do not apologize. You are stressed, and you have hormones wreaking havoc on your body.” I knelt down next to her and grasped her hand. “Abby, please look at me.” Abby’s green-grey eyes, still moist with tears, rose to meet mine. “Remember who you are marrying. Tim has protected, comforted and loved you since the day he met you, and today he is willing to make the greatest vow of love- marriage. He loves you for who you are. So stand tall, and be you.” Abby leaned over and grasped me in a hug.

“You know Ziva,” she whispered, “You really have a way words with words.”

…..

_Tony’s POV_

Ducky and Jimmy, Tim’s two other groomsmen, followed me as I left the dressing room.

“How is the dear boy?” Ducky asked as he adjusted his bowtie.

“If the preparations take any longer,” I responded, “we’ll be picking up pieces of exploded McGee off the dressing room floor.” Both men winced.

“Not good.” Palmer said in his usual tactless way. Duck and I turned to glare at him, and the embarrassed assistant backed away with a muttered “sorry”. Ducky turned to me.

“Do you think I should speak with him?” he asked. I quickly shook my head knowing that Ducky’s long winded stories would do Tim no good. Before I could say anything to stop him, Gibbs brushed past us and went into the dressing room. The door clicked shut, and all three of us flinched as the door slammed shut.

Minutes later, the door opened once more and Gibbs walked out just as the church’s organ thundered out the ceremony’s opening notes, followed a second later by the unmistakable sound of rock music.

“Get ready you three.” Gibbs growled. “Ceremony’s about to start.” He strode purposefully to the bride’s dressing room while we all looked at one another, and then the dressing room that Tim had not come out of.

“Do you think we should…” Ducky started.

“ _Tony!”_ Ziva, already at the middle of the church’s double doors, motioned frantically at me. Sara and Carol were lined up behind her.

“It’s too late!” I hissed to the other two men. I trotted over to Ziva’s side and smiled as I saw her; it was always a treat to see her dressed up as beautifully as she was. Her chocolate eyes smoldered as she adjusted my tie, and I leaned over.

“You look amazing Zi” I whispered into her ear. She smiled a small smile and murmured “Toda” before kissing me on the cheek and then taking my arm. We faced the doors and the ceremony began.

…..

As Ziva and I walked down the aisle, the rock band known as _Veil Ripper_ (apparently they were a rock band that specialized in special ceremonies like weddings, according to Abby.) began to play a fast-paced song. Smiling faces turned towards us, but it wasn’t until Ziva and I had gone up to the altar and reluctantly split to our respective sides that I was able to see who was in the audience.

The first thing that I noticed was that this crowd was much larger than the one that had attended our wedding. Director Vance, his wife, and his two children were all ushers. In the audience, Jimmy’s new wife, Breena, sat next to Jane, who was grinning broadly and tapping her fingers to _Veil Ripper’s_ beat. Gerald, who was Ducky’s assistant before Jimmy was there, sitting next to Tobias Fornell and his young daughter Emily. I was slightly surprised to see that the Los Angeles team was present- the diminutive Hetty sat at the end of the row of chairs, sitting next to the two techs Eric and Nell.  Next to Nell, Callen and Sam sat scanning the area constantly. Kensi sat next to Sam, holding Deek’s hand in her still-weak left hand. Other NCIS agents, along with some FBI and CGI agents, sat in the audience as well. I also noticed plenty of people whom I guessed were civilians, most likely Abby and Tim’s personal friends. The nuns of Abby’s bowling team, in full habit, were all tapping or clapping along to the music. Finally, Tim’s father and Gloria, Abby’s mother, along with her interpreter sat in the front rows. To finish off, pictures of Kate, Jenny and Mike Franks sat on chairs of their own, a silent but powerful tribute to those whom we had lost.

By now Ducky and Carol, along with Jimmy and Sara were all in place. The preacher nodded to the band, and the struck up a slower, somewhat statelier song. The doors opened, and everyone turned around towards the doors. Two figures stepped out- Tim, holding his mother’s arm. As he walked down the aisle, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Not only was Tim’s fear gone, he was actually grinning broadly and striding confidently.

 _Whatever Gibbs said to him, it worked_ I thought. Tim led his mother to her seat next to his father, and then ascended the steps to stand next to the altar. The band’s song suddenly switched to a fully rock version of “Here Comes the Bride”. The doors swung open one last time, and Abby and Gibbs stepped onto the aisle, causing my jaw to drop.

Abby looked absolutely stunning. Despite the fact that it was black, her wedding dress seemed to gleam in the sunlight that was streaming through the church’s windows. Abby moved in graceful strides, beaming at the amazed gasps from the crowd. Gibbs strode next to her, his eyes full of fatherly pride, a rare full smile across his strong face. He led Abby up to the altar, leaned down to whisper something into her ear that made her smile widen (if that was even possible) and then took his seat at the front next to Gloria as Tim and Abby grasped hands and  the ceremony began. Ziva, Sara, Carol, Ducky, Jimmy and I were dismissed to our seats, and as the preacher began to read, Ziva took my hand and squeezed it.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of Timothy McGee and Abigail Sciuto in holy matrimony. These two…” As the preacher continued on with his speech, I found myself gazing lovingly at Ziva, almost as if his words were being spoken once again for us. Ziva must have felt the same, because within a few minutes she was resting her head on my shoulder, letting out a low sigh.

Before we knew it, the preacher had finished with his reading and was indicating for Abby and Tim to come up and read their vows. Tim started with his, quickly destroying his earlier fear of forgetting his vows.

“Abigail Sciuto, from the very first day that I met you, I have madly, totally and completely in love with you. I promise that I will love you, care for you, and stand by you every single day of my life. I am yours, and this I vow.” Abby’s eyes were glistening with unshed tears at these simple, yet powerful words, but her voice remained unwavering as she recited her vows.

“Timothy McGee, you are the sweetest, funniest and most loving man I have ever known, and from the moment I met you, I knew my heart would belong to no other. I promise to stand firm by your side and to love you with all my being for as long as I am alive. This I vow.” Abby raised her chin proudly, and I saw Tim wipe something away from his eye. The preacher smiled as he watched this, and then continued on with the rest of the ceremony.

"Timothy McGee, do you promise to love, cherish and honor Abigail Sciuto, through good times and through bad, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?" he asked.

“I do.” Tim replied in a strong, clear voice.

"Abigail Sciuto, do you promise to love, cherish and honor Timothy McGee, through good times and through bad, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

“I do” Abby responded, her voice ringing clearly through the church.

“May I have the rings?” the preacher asked. Gibbs, as he had done for our wedding, handed the rings, in a hand woven basket, to the preacher. “Thank you.” The preacher murmured, and turned to Tim.

"May this ring and all it symbolizes be blessed so that he who gives it and she who wears it may live in peace and continue in love until their time in this world is done." The preacher handed Abby’s ring to Tim, and he gently slipped it onto Abby’s ring finger.

"With this ring I wed thee. Wear it as a symbol of our love and commitment." Tim said clearly.  

The preacher then grasped the second ring, and turned to Abby.

"May this ring and all it symbolizes be blessed so that she who gives it and he who wears it may live in peace and continue in love until their time in this world is done.” Abby grinned, and slipped the ring onto Tim’s finger.

"With this ring I wed thee. Wear it as a symbol of our love and commitment."  Abby whispered.

"Friends and family of Timothy and Abigial, you have gathered here today to witness their union in marriage. May their marriage be blessed, and may their lives together be filled with love, joy and peace. Timothy and Abby, by the powers vested in me, by the District of Columbia, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Timothy, you may now kiss the bride."

Tim wasted no time in grabbing Abby around the waist and dipping her into a magnificent kiss, causing several to clear their throats. When they finally pulled apart, grinning, and, in Tim’s case, blushing, the church erupted in cheers. The preacher waited until the cheering had died down, and spoke one last time.

“My friends, it is my honor to present to you Mr. and Mrs. McGee!”


	24. Music to our Ears

_Ziva’s POV_

Cheers, clapping and wolf whistles filled the air as Tim and Abby, still flushed from their kiss, started arm-in-arm down the aisle. As the newlyweds went to greet their guests, Tony and I waited at the entrance to the church. After they finished, we, alongside Gibbs, Sara, Jimmy, Carol, Ducky, Gloria and Tim’s parents, would accompany the couple to the reception hall. As I looked around, I saw that Gibbs was deep in signed conversation with Gloria Scuito, who looked almost exactly like an older version of her daughter. Tim’s parents were standing nearby, and I was about to go over to speak to them when a cheerful voice called my name.

“Ziva!” Kensi, looking extremely happy, strode up to me. “You look fantastic!” As we embraced one another, I could not help but to notice that her left arm seemed considerably weaker than her right arm. I tried not to stare, but to no avail. Kensi followed my gaze and grinned as she extended her arm.

“It’s still pretty weak, but it’s a whole hell of a lot better than it was a month ago.” Seeing my doubtful expression, she flexed her fingers and lightly punched my shoulder with her right arm. “Cheer up Ziva! I’ll be fine.” I rolled my eyes at her, but decided to let the matter drop for now, noticing that Abby and Tim were almost finished greeting their guests. After saying goodbye to Kensi, I turned to Tony, who was deep in conversation with Deeks, and tapped his arm to let him know it was time to leave.

Once we had left the church and entered the limousine waiting outside, Abby sat and down and breathed a low sigh of relief. I glanced at her, worried for her.

“Are you alright Abby?” I asked her quietly. She smiled, but I could clearly see the weariness in her green eyes.

“I’m a little tired, but I’ll be okay if I rest on the way. This little one demands a lot from me” she murmured as she cradled her stomach. Tim, looking concerned, wrapped his arm around her as she rested on his shoulder and fell asleep.

…..

Thirty minutes later we arrived at the front entrance of the Ritz-Carlton of Washington D.C. where the wedding reception was to be held. The brisk October air rushed past my legs as I hurried to the extravagant double door of the magnificent hotel, arm-in-arm with Tony. The uniformed doorman opened the door with a bow and a smile, and I thanked him as we hurried into the lobby. The hotel itself was magnificent, gleaming mahogany everywhere, plush carpeting and marble floors. Another uniformed employee led us to the spacious ballroom. We all gasped with amazement at the beautiful place. Tim turned and faced Gloria, who was grinning brightly.

“Mrs. Scuito, this place is amazing! How can I ever thank you?” He asked. Abby signed his question, and the older woman signed back.

“Mom said if you want to make her happy, stop calling her Mrs. Scuito and either call her Gloria or Mom. You can thank her by making sure that you treat me right, or she’ll… Mom!” Abby yelped as Gloria chuckled. We all laughed , and then went to our respected rooms to freshen up before the reception began.

…..

It wasn’t long before the guests had filled the ballroom and the wedding speeches began. Gloria, speaking through her interpreter, went first, followed by Tim’s parents, then Ducky, Jimmy, Sara, Carol Gibbs (albeit a rather short one from him) and Tony. I had yet to go, and feeling somewhat nervous, I stood and took a deep breath.

“Abby and Tim, I have the great honor and pleasure of knowing the both of you for eight wonderful years, and through all of that time, I cannot think of any better person for the two of you to spend your lives with than one another. Tim, you were the first person to accept me for who I was when I first came here from Israel and I have never forgotten your kindness. Abby I know I will never be able to replace the friend that you lost, but you still allowed me to become your friend nonetheless. Now the both of you are married, and I cannot think of a more wonderful way to show your love for one another. Congratulations, and may your marriage be filled with many long and happy years.” Cheers and clapping filled the air as Abby, tears pouring down her face, engulfed me in a huge hug. Tim clasped both of his hands around mine, a huge smile on his face. He then turned and called out to the guests.

“Let’s eat!”

…..

After dinner was finished, Tim and Abby had cut their wedding cake and we had eaten dessert, _Veil Ripper_ walked onto the stage. The leader of the band- a woman with dreadlocked hair- tested the microphone and then spoke into it.

“Abby and Tim, congratulations on your wonderful day. May you both find happiness all the days of your life. And now, for those of you who did not know, today’s songs are going to be performed by friends and family of Abby and Tim. Would our first two guest singers please come up for our couple’s first dance together?” Smiling broadly, Tony and I walked up to the stage and stood side-by-side in front of a mic while Tim and Abby went out to the dance floor.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, here to sing the Elvis Presley classic _Can’t Help Falling in Love_ , Tony and Ziva DiNozzo!” Amid the cheers and applause, Tim lovingly took Abby into his arms as the band’s pianist and guitarist began to play the opening notes of the song. Tony stepped forward and began to sing in his beautiful baritone voice.

_Wise men say_

_Only fools rush in._

_But I can’t help_

_Falling in love with you_

As the couple began to slowly circle the floor, I slipped my hand into Tony’s and sang the second verse.

_Shall I stay_

_Would it be a sin?_

_If I can’t help_

_Falling in love with you_

By now all of the guests were swaying in time with the music, and I noticed many closed eyes and soft smiles as the American classic continued. Abby and Tim had long since lost themselves in the music and were clearly only now dancing for one another. As Tony’s voice joined mine in graceful harmony, I had to blink back tears.

_Like a river flows_

_Surely to the sea_

_Darling so it goes,_

_some things are meant to be._

_Take my hand, take my whole life too_

_For I can’t help_

_Falling in love with you_

We stepped back from the microphone as the band played a section of the song, and then we repeated the last two sections of the song. Finally, with misty eyes, I echoed Tony as he repeated the last line.

_Falling in love… with you._

As the audience burst into cheers and applause, Tim dipped Abby into an elegant bow and gave her a long kiss. I gazed into Tony’s deep green eyes, feeling just like a smitten teenager. I opened my mouth to speak, but just then the diminutive Hetty came up onto the stage and shooed the two of us off. She spent several seconds adjusting the mic before taking a deep breath. We all waited, expecting a speech, but then Hetty did something completely unexpected.

“Hit it!” she roared and then she began to sing.

 _Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah!_ __  
Roma-roma-mamaa!  
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!  
Want your bad romance!

Within seconds, nearly all of the guests had made their way to the dance floor as Hetty launched into a Lady Gaga medley. As soon as she finished, after receiving thunderous applause, another guest, this one a civilian, got up and began to sing a pop song.

This continued for three more songs, and then the band leader called for all of the single women in the audience to come up to the dance floor. Abby then climbed up onto the stage, clutching her wedding bouquet of black roses, and then turned her back to the group of women on the floor. The women bunched together in anticipation, and then Abby tossed the flowers in a graceful arc. A sea of hands flew up, but one hand reached up to grasp the flowers. The crowd parted, and I saw Kensi, grinning from ear to ear, holding the flowers in her right hand. The other women clapped and cheered as Kensi triumphantly raised the bouquet and grinned broadly. Deeks walked up to her and put his hand around her waist, causing the crowd to cheer even louder. Eventually the two made their way back to their seats and the band announced that they were going to play a new song. Tony walked over to where I was sitting and bowed deeply, extending his hand.

“May I have the honor of this dance, m’lady?” he said in a poor British accent.

“If you lose that ridiculous accent, then yes.” I replied, rolling my eyes and placing my hand in his. Tony’s green eyes sparkled as he led me to the dance floor. The song started.

_Her eyes, her eyes, make the stars_

_look like they’re not shining._

_Her hair, her hair, falls perfectly_

_Without her trying._

_She’s so beautiful,_

_And I tell her everyday…_

As Tony swept me along the dance floor, I thought of how perfect this day had been, not just for Tim and Abby, but for Tony and me as well. As we danced, I laid my head on Tony’s broad chest, closing my eyes and smiling as his deep voice sang along to the song.

_… ‘Cause you’re amazing,_

_Just the way you are…_


	25. Saturdays are Good Days

_Tony’s POV_

On a blessedly quiet and peaceful Saturday morning in late November, I awoke early from habit, mentally cursing my internal clock. _Oh yeah, on any_ weekday _Ziva practically has to drag me out of bed, but give me one day off…_ Now that I was wide awake, I decided to give up on trying to go back to sleep and instead began to carefully extract myself from Ziva’s sleeping embrace, trying to keep from waking her up. Kate had developed a bad case of colic, and had run Ziva ragged for the last four days. I had done my best to help Ziva out, but more often than not, I would wake up in the middle of the night to find Ziva walking around on the balcony landing, bouncing our fussing, eight-month-old daughter, refusing to let me take over. “One of us should get some rest” she would say, before pointing me back to our bedroom.

Fortunately, Kate’s colic seemed to have finally passed, and I decided that at the very least I could let Ziva sleep in for the day. Even while she was sleeping, I could see that she was exhausted: she didn’t even shift when I finally pulled myself free of her arms, nor did her breathing change in the slightest, and looking down at Ziva’s sleeping body, I frowned at the dark circles under her eyes; still, I could help but to admire her gorgeous form. _My sleeping goddess_ I thought, as I bent down to gently kiss her on the cheek and pull the covers over her, before leaving the room to check on the triplets.

When I entered the nursery, Engel, who was lying next to Kate’s crib, lifted his black-and-tan head and thumped his tail twice, but made no move to get up. “Hey Eng” I whispered, kneeling down to scratch him behind his ears. This caused our big, tough German Shepherd to roll over on his back, tongue out and tail wagging even faster. “You big lug” I growled. “How’s our Kate-girl doing?” Engel flipped back over on his stomach as I stood up to check on our oldest daughter. To my immense relief she was fast asleep, showing no signs of the earlier colic she had suffered from. I ran my fingers through her peach-fuzz hair, and was turning around to check on Isaiah when a small voice piped up behind me.

“Wassapibbleptthhzzz!” Tali, whose head was turned in my direction, was wide awake, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before she would start to babble and shriek and wake her siblings up. I quickly walked over to her crib and scooped her up.

“Hey there Tali-girl, do you want to help Daddy make some breakfast for Mommy?” Tali chortled and, after flailing around for a bit, she grabbed my ear and pulled it. “I’ll take that as a yes” I said with a chuckle. I made sure that Isaiah and Kate were both asleep before grabbing a baby monitor and heading downstairs, closely followed by a clearly hungry Engel.

After I had fed Tali and Engel, I set up one of our portable playpen in the breakfast room and placed her, along with a few of her toys inside of it. I kept an eye on her as I got out pancake mix, blueberries and milk. Within minutes, the kitchen was filled with the delicious smell of blueberry pancakes, a favorite treat for Ziva and I. After I had finished with the last of the pancakes, I picked up Tali, grabbed two bottles of milk that I had warmed up and went upstairs to check on Kate and Isaiah. I was just in time; both were waking up and starting to fuss.

I set down the bottles, put Tali back in her crib, and, after some careful maneuvering, fed both Isaiah and Kate. Once they had finished and had been burped, Isaiah, along with Tali was wide awake and ready for more fun. Kate, on the other hand, was still exhausted from her bout of colic, and quickly drifted back off to sleep. After covering my daughter with her blanket, I picked Tali and Isaiah up and whispered “Let’s go wake up Momma!” With Engel following us, I brought the siblings to the master bedroom.

Ziva was still fast asleep, but I noticed that her breathing was starting to speed up as well as growing shallower, and I knew that it wouldn’t be long until she would wake up. I carefully set Tali and Isaiah on the bed next to my sleeping wife. Isaiah decided that he was more interested in the bed sheets and began to pull on them. Tali, however, was well aware of Ziva’s nearby presence, even though she couldn’t see her, and wasted no time in crawling over to Ziva and smacking her mother on the nose. Ziva’s chocolate-colored eyes flew open as her body tensed, but when she saw who was on the bed, she smiled at her children.

“Good morning you two- three.” Ziva corrected herself when Engel stuck his nose in her back. Ziva picked up Tali and laid the little girl on her chest, letting Tali listen to her heartbeat. Ziva’s warm eyes rested on mine, and my heart melted at the tenderness radiating from them.

“Good morning Ahava” she murmured as I picked Isaiah up and sat down next to her. I leaned over and kissed Ziva on the brow, and then ran my hand through her curls.

“Good morning Love. I have a special surprise breakfast for you today. I figured you could use it after everything that has happened with Kate.” At the mention of Kate’s name, Ziva’s eyes immediately flicked towards the nursery.

“She’s just fine Zi,” I said, answering her unasked question. “She just ate and then fell asleep. I’m sure she’s just as worn out as you are.” Ziva nodded, stroking Tali’s cheek, causing the little girl to wiggle. Chuckling softly, Ziva clutched Tali to her chest and rolled out of bed. I reached over, extracting the sheets from Isaiah’s mouth and followed my wife down the stairs.

After we had placed the two siblings in the portable playpen, I pulled out the blueberry pancakes, grinning when Ziva’s eyes lit up with joy. Within minutes we had sat down at the breakfast table to eat, but we had only taken a few bites of our breakfast when Isaiah’s sharp shriek pierced the room. Ziva and I looked over just in time to see Tali smack her younger brother and yank a toy out of his hands. Isaiah shrieked even louder, but before he could retaliate, Ziva and I went over to the playpen to separate the two.

“Tali,” Ziva sighed as she picked her up. Tali turned her sightless eyes to her mother, her tiny face giving her mother an innocent “what?” look. “You need to play nice with your brother.” Meanwhile I scooped up Isaiah and rocked him back and forth to calm him down and then placed him in a separate corner of the playpen and gave him another toy to play with. Ziva and I were just settling down when another cry- Kate’s cry- erupted from the baby monitor. _Not again_ I thought, believing that her colic had returned. I motioned for Ziva to stay in her seat and headed back up the stairs to find out what was going on with our daughter.

As soon as I reached the top step, Engel, who had chosen to stay with Kate, nearly collided with me, making a half-whine, half-bark noise: _She’s making noise, make her stop!_ I sighed and reassured the decidedly unhelpful Shepherd that I _was_ indeed going to take care of the noise, and entered the nursery, trying not to trip over the anxious ball of fur at my feet. As I came up to Kate’s crib, I expected to find the little girl squirming in pain. However, much to my surprise, as soon as she had seen me, Kate stopped her crying and crawled over to the crib’s railing and lift up her arms, begging to be picked up.

“You little faker!” I yelped. “You just wanted to join in the fun!” Kate chortled at my indignant tone as I picked her up, and then tried to smack my noise. “Be nice to your Daddy, Kate” I admonished as we left the nursery and went down the stairs to join the rest of the family while Engel ran after us.

As soon as we came into the breakfast room, Ziva looked up, concern written all over her face. However, once Kate started to happily babble, my wife’s lovely face relaxed visibly. I swung Kate up into the air and then into the playpen, causing her to shriek with delight, and then turned back to Ziva.

“She was just faking it so someone would come up and get her” I said, rolling my eyes. Ziva chuckled and grasped my hand, leading me back to the breakfast table, where we finally managed to finish our meal in relative peace.

Once everything had been cleaned up, Ziva and I took the triplets out of their playpen and onto a blanket to give them more room to play. Ziva then sat down on the couch and I moved in behind her and began to massage her lower back. Ziva let out a contented noise: half-sigh and half-moan, and leaned into my hands. Her soft jasmine-and-flowers scent drifted over me, and I let out a soft sigh of my own, wrapping my arms around my beautiful wife and pulled her close, running my hands through her dark curls. As I looked out at my three lovely children, I couldn’t help but to feel a wonderful rush of contentment.

Saturdays were good days. 


	26. HalfHeart Part 1

_Ziva’s POV_

“NO, you prissy, bureaucratic asshole, I will NOT hold! I’m in the middle of a NCIS investigation, and this is the **fifth time** I’ve been put on hold today! So stop playing pass-the-agent with me and give the goddamn phone to Officer… DON’T YOU DARE PUT ME ON HOLD YOU GODDAMN MOTHERF…”

“TONY!” I bellowed. My husband, completely red in the face and breathing heavily, swung his head to look at me. He then caught sight of our co-workers, many of whom were openly staring at him. There were quick to look away once they saw his face. However, Tony had clearly gotten the message, and he sighed loudly before slamming his phone back into its cradle with more force than was necessary. Running his hand agitatedly through his hair, Tony looked up at me, his face haggard.

“Ugh Zi, I’m sorry for the language, it’s just that this stupid investigation is so damn frightening. I just want to catch this sick bastard so I can finally get some sleep again.” My heart clenched painfully at Tony’s words; he was not a man who normally openly admitted fear about a case, but I could very easily understand his fear.

Our latest string of cases involved the abduction and murder of six males. Three of these men were in the Navy, and all of them were fathers-to-be. The kidnapper, who could not be identified as a man or a woman, wearing a ski mask, baggy, full-body clothing and gloves, would follow them men until they were alone, drug them, and kidnap them, before leaving a personal belonging of the victim’s, circled by a bracelet that featured a charm in the shape of a half heart. The wives of the men would then receive a phone call that contained an electronically altered voice, demanding a $25,000 ransom from each family and giving a two-day period to send the money to an untraceable offshore bank account. However, once the ransom was received, the directions that the wives received only led them to the bodies their husbands- tortured and murdered with a stab to the heart with what was likely a combat knife. The killing method, along with the macabre “calling card” of the half-heart bracelet earned the killer the nickname the “Half-Hearted Killer”.

The worst part for me was interviewing the wives of the victims, the mothers-to-be who were all in various stages of their pregnancies. As I went through each heartbreaking interview, I kept picturing myself in their situations- alone, heartbroken, frightened, and now solely responsible for the life growing inside, and it made the cases all the worse. Even at night, well after I had left the NCIS building, I got no relief from my fear and frustration. Many nights I would find myself pacing on the balcony overlooking the front entryway, trying to dispel the horrible vestiges of a nightmare. In the nightmare, I would find myself pregnant, looking down at Tony’s pale corpse, naked except for a bracelet sporting a half-heart charm, covered in blood from a deep stab wound in the heart. Maniacal laughter would fill the air before I woke up, gasping and covered in sweat, tears running down my cheeks. I could only relax when I felt Tony’s warm and reassuringly _alive_ body pressed against mine, as the two of us embraced one another, sharing our agony.  

Of course, it was Tim who was suffering the most from this case. His usual blundering manner was replaced by a single-minded determination, a determination accompanied by an understandable fear, and it showed more and more each day. He grew paler and paler while his eyes grew more and more haunted and hollow. Even Tony, who usually never missed a chance to tease his co-workers, left McGee alone during this case. Abby, of course, was faring no better than her husband, and I worried about the stress of the case negatively affecting her unborn child. For both their sakes, I hoped and prayed for a swift and just end to these cases.  

Needless to say, it was a gruesome, frustrating, frightening and absolutely exhausting case. It was made worse by the fact that we were forced to work with the ever-uncooperative FBI, thanks to the fact that three of the victims were civilians.

“Hey DiNozzo, if you wanted to get a hold of someone in the FBI, there are a whole bunch of different ways other than throwing a tantrum to do so, you know. Then again, seeing your track record on these cases, I can’t say I’m too surprised.” Tony and I both turned to see one of our least favorite people leaning against the wall of my cubicle. FBI Special Agent Ron Sacks, with his ever-present sneer, was one of the main reasons why both Tony and I hated having to work double cases with the FBI. The man was full of himself (much like Tony, although I would never admit that out loud) and he never turned away a chance to mock my husband. Tony’s jaw clenched tightly at Sacks’ words, but he turned away from the sneering agent.

“Don’t you have a job to do, _Slacks_?” he growled as he pounded furiously at his keyboard. Sack’s sneer got even wider (if that was even possible) when he saw Tony’s annoyance and he leaned more on my cubicle. I found myself gauging the distance between his hand and myself.

“Oh, I’ve been doing _my_ job _DiNutzo_. I just wanted to see if you were actually doing yours. Or is your lovely little wife here providing too much of a distraction for you? You know, she does seem to like getting on the wrong side of the law…” Tony’s face went completely livid, and he leapt out of his chair, but I was quicker. By the time Tony had made it from around his desk, I had already grabbed Sacks’ wrist, twisted it up behind his back, and slammed him bodily into my desk. Leaning close, I hissed into his ear.

“Six mothers-to-be have had gone through the brutal murder of their beloved husbands by a psychotic killer who is still on the loose, and who shows no signs of stopping, and yet you have absolutely nothing better to do than insult both my husband and myself?” Sacks’ face was contorted in pain, and some rage, but he when he started to open his mouth, I twisted his wrist and he shut it. Wise man. “Unless you wish to be on the receiving end of my old Mossad interrogation… tactics, I suggest that you leave us alone unless you have something pertinent to the case. Do you understand me?” Sacks grunted, but he refused to respond.  I twisted his wrist even further and applied more pressure to his arm, causing him to yelp in pain.

“Agent David, I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t break my agent’s arm. He’s a difficult man to replace, and I hate filling out the paperwork involved with an injured agent.” Agent Fornell and Gibbs strode into the bullpen side-by-side, both carrying identical cups of coffee and moving in an almost identical manner. I contemplated ignoring Fornell’s request and holding Sacks in place, but then Gibbs growled a quiet “Ziver”. Sighing heavily, I released my hold on the obnoxious FBI agent, hiding a smile as he quickly scrambled away from me. Just as he was about to leave the bullpen, Fornell called his name, and Sacks slowly turned back to his boss, clearly reluctant to be anywhere near me.

“You _do_ have a job to do, and it ain’t here. Stay out of here unless you find something useful. Otherwise I’ll let David finish what she started.” Now thoroughly humiliated, Sacks nodded and slunk off to the elevator. Meanwhile Gibbs, who seemed completely unperturbed at the commotion, had gone to sit down at his computer, and was now glaring at the empty chair behind Tim’s desk.

“He is with Abby” I said quickly. Gibbs merely grunted, and then turned back to us, one eyebrow raised. Clearly he wanted a report from us. My insides clenched, and I saw Tony’s shoulders sag- we did not have anything for him, and Gibbs picked this up right away.

“Three hours and you two have _nothing_ for me? Yet somehow you have time to make small talk with Sacks” he growled. His words caused the emotions from the case seething inside of me to boil over, and before I could stop myself, I snapped.

“What the hell do you expect from us Gibbs!? A miracle perhaps? This killer has left absolutely no DNA- no skin, no hair, no fingerprints. We can’t even tell if they’re male or female, and other than the fact the victims are all fathers-to-be, there’s no relation between them, nor do the murders have a central location! Tony has been trying to contact an officer at the Metro PD who may have information on this case, but he keeps being put on hold! And as for your so-called ‘small talk’, Sacks was insulting Tony and myself, and keeping us from our work! So yes, we don’t have anything!” Breathing heavily, I glared at Gibbs, who just continued to stare levelly at me, despite the looks of shock on my co-worker’s faces. Eventually Gibbs rose from his desk and started towards me, and I held my ground, refusing to be intimidated. However, he walked right past me, although he did give me a quick headslap in passing.

“Go beat something up in the gym, David- clear your head. Then find something _useful_ for me when I get back from Quantico. Ya coming Tobias?” Fornell let out an annoyed sigh before grabbing his backpack and FBI jacket and hurrying after Gibbs. As the two men stepped into the elevator, I turned to Tony, who was grinning his famous grin.

“ _What_?” I snarled irritably. His grin widened.

“You used _contractions. Four times._ Who are you, and what have you done to Ziva?” he chuckled. Growling, I punched him in the shoulder, causing him to yelp, before taking Gibbs’ advice and heading off to the gym.

…..

Once I was at the gym, I wasted no time in finding a punching bag and settling into a rhythm of punches, while trying to figure out more on our case.

What did this nameless, sexless person want? Was it money? _Thud._ Doubtful, as the ransoms that were demanded were relatively low (compared to others I had heard of) and all of the victims were middle class, not earning a great deal of money.

Was it information? _Thud._ That too was unlikely. None of the civilians worked for a company that dealt with sensitive information, and all of the Navy personal were fairly low-ranking, with little to no access to any important military information.

What about revenge? _Thud._ Maybe, but this seemed odd to me- these were six random people, whose only connection was their soon-to-be parental status… wait a minute. _Thud Thud._ The Terranova case- the Ensign’s sister had murdered her own relative for the one thing she was unable to have: a baby. Was it possible that this killer was following a somewhat similar motive- killing fathers-to-be for what he or she could not or did not have? _Thud Thud Thud THUD._ I increased to a furious pace as I thought about this possibility. Of course, this idea was no more than a hunch, a gut feeling, but at least it was _something!_ It might even explain why the killer kept leaving their infamous “calling card” with each body. _Thud THUD THU…_ Someone had tapped me on the shoulder, and I whirled around, arm up in mid-punch. I came face-to-face with a tall, blonde, tan and heavily muscled man wearing a sweat-stained undershirt and black basketball shorts. He was leaning against the wall, a cocky grin curling underneath a razor-straight mustache.

“Whoa there little lady,” he drawled in an incredibly fake Texan accent. “Name’s Andrew Maragh. I just wanted to compliment your form- you throw some damn good punches, although I could give you a few pointers- I’m a boxer. Care to try a couple bouts in the ring? I’ll take it easy on ya.” His grin grew even wider.

I narrowed my eyes, feeling my teeth grind at his chauvinistic words. _How dare he say that, the pompous, cocky bastard! I should…_ Unintentionally, I started to take a step towards Andrew, before quickly stopping myself. I had a job to do- I couldn’t waste my time on a man like him. “Excuse me Mr. Maragh, but I was just finishing up. I need to get back to work.” I growled to him.

Andrew stepped in front me, and his arm shot out towards my shoulder to stop me. “Oh come on, surely you can spare a few minutes with me pretty girl” he said as he grabbed my shoulder, clearly intending to lead me to the ring.

BIG mistake.

I easily struck his arm aside, and then drove my knee into his groin. As the cheeky man doubled over, yelping in pain, I did a quick leg sweep, hooking his knees and sending him smashing to the floor. Before he could recover, I dropped my knee down, slamming it into his solar plexus, and then leaned into his gasping face to look him directly in the eyes.

“Was that enough of a ‘bout’ for you Andrew, or would you like this ‘little lady’ to try another one? I would be quite happy to give _you_ some pointers.” Andrew frantically shook his head, not looking me in the eyes. “Good” I growled, “The next time a woman tells you ‘no’, it would be in your best interest to listen to her.” Leaving Andrew lying prone on the floor, I hoisted my gym bag over my shoulder and went to shower, feeling _much_ less frustrated than before.

…..

When I arrived back upstairs, I told Tony about the idea I hunch I had come up with in the gym, and the two of us immediately began the thankless task of reviewing each of the victims’ personal connections, beginning with their family and branching out to their friends and associates. It was getting late, and as the sheer number of people piled up, and as both Gibbs and Tim remained absent, I began to grow more and more exhausted, wishing that I could just end this and go home to be with my babies.

I was in the middle of pursuing a shady friend of one of the Navy men when the security alarm for Abby’s lab blared, jolting both Tony and I out of our seats. Drawing our guns, we rushed down the stairs as fast as we could, followed by several security personnel. When we reached Abby’s lab, Tony and I wasted no time in bursting in, calling Abby’s name frantically and looking for an intruder. What we found surprised us.

Abby was the only one in the room, and she was in very bad shape. The normally bubbly Goth was leaning heavily on the doorframe leading to her office, cradling her round stomach while sobs racked her frame. Tony and I rushed over, but Abby refused to answer our frantic queries, only pointing to a cot in her office. What I saw next made my blood run cold.

On the cot, which had clearly been recently slept in, was Tim’s badge, which was circled by a bracelet.

A bracelet with a half-heart charm.


	27. HalfHeart Part 2

_Tony’s POV_

When I first saw the half-heart charm lying in front of me, I wanted nothing more than to tear it off of Tim’s badge before hurling it into the first container of acid that I found. (Being in a forensic lab, it wouldn’t be too hard to find something like that.) However, both the damned bracelet and Tim’s badge were now evidence in a kidnapping that could easily turn into a murder case.

Shuddering at the gruesome thought, I asked one of the security guards to get my crime gear. While I was waiting for the guard to come back, I went over back over to Abby, who had moved from kneeling to sitting on the floor, sobbing into Ziva’s shoulder. Ziva was murmuring softly to her distraught friend, while tears ran down her own face. Finding it suddenly difficult to swallow, I had to turn away from the heartbreaking scene for a moment in order to regain my own composure.

By the time I was able to pull myself back together, the guard had already returned with my crime gear, as well as a very scary-looking Gibbs. Stepping back slightly, I quickly filled him in on what had happened, and upon hearing the grim tale, Gibbs immediately went over to Abby and Ziva. Meanwhile, I snapped on a pair of gloves, grabbed my fingerprint kit, camera and crime scene tape, and began to document the scene. Needless to say, dusting for prints was a daunting and frustrating task, made only worse by the fact that Abby was only two feet away from me, sobbing her heart out into my wife’s shoulder. Setting my jaw determinedly, I began to snap photos, making sure that I didn’t miss one single detail; by following my “normal” routine, I could at least keep the frightening thoughts about Tim’s possible fate somewhat at bay.

A few minutes later, a very solemn Ziva joined me, saying nothing other than to ask me where I had taken pictures and then began to dust for prints. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched my wife, growing more and more concerned. Her body and movements were stiff, a very sure sign that she was struggling mightily to hold back intense emotion. I also knew that asking her how she was doing would be no good- Ziva had the tendency to clam up when she was asked this- it was a fallback to her old Mossad days.

Finally, I decided to try to break the uncomfortable silence. “Zi, did Abby say anything about what happened?” Ziva turned towards me, her mocha-colored eyes as hard as diamonds.

“Yes” she growled, spitting out the word like a curse. “She said that she had a craving, and that Tim had gone out to get her some food, around the time that I went to the gym. She said that during that time she found something in one of the victims’ blood and had to get it confirmed with Ducky. When she got back, she had to call Tim for something, but his cell phone was off. She looked into her office and then found… found _that_.” Ziva shuddered and jerked her head towards Tim’s badge and the bracelet. “When she saw it, she activated the alarm.” Ziva’s voice had gone flat and hard, and she resumed her dusting, flicking the brush with a vengeance. I quickly decided that moment was a really good time to shut my mouth, and I continued processing the crime scene in silence.

….

The office was processed, the evidence bagged, and the fingerprints run, and now I was staring at the plasma screen, looking at the results of our findings.

There was no DNA. All of the fingerprints checked out to either Abby or Tim. No other evidence had been left behind. Even the security tapes that we had managed to dig up showed nothing out of the ordinary. We continued to run the footage on a loop, and while I continued to focus dourly on our depressing lack of evidence, Ziva continued to focus intently on the video.

“Do we have _anything!?_ ” Gibbs’ gruff roar filled the bullpen as he strode in brusquely, turning his head slightly away from Tim’s empty desk. I swallowed past a lump in my throat, sweat beading on my brow as I prepared myself for the wave of anger from Gibbs when he found out our non-existent results.

“We have…” I started, but then Ziva interrupted me.

“I found something Gibbs” my wife said quietly, still staring intently at the screen. Both Gibbs and I spun around to face Ziva, who grabbed the plasma’s remote and froze the video. Pointing at a single figure on the screen, she turned to face us.

“Do you see this woman… here?” Ziva asked, tapping the screen lightly. I leaned forward, squinting at the fuzzy patch she was indicating. I started to call out for Tim to do something to sharpen the image, but then, with a sinking feeling, remembered what had happened. Relying on Ziva’s sharp eyesight, I asked her what she saw.

“I believe that this woman is one of the newer custodians for the Navy Yard. From what I can see, she cleans around the lab; I think that she started around two weeks ago.” Ziva started the video once again, and Gibbs and I leaned forward to watch the black-and-while figure. The woman walked into the lab and appeared to look around the lab several times before quickly pushing her janitorial cart into the room and removing something from a pocket as well as a push broom. To anyone else, the woman appeared to be cleaning, but thanks to Ziva’s sharp eyesight, I was just able to make out the quick movements of her placing the bracelet and charm on the bed. The janitor pulled the sheets up slightly, partially hiding the badge, but still keeping it visible. Within seconds, the woman was pushing the cart out of the office and into the lab, tidying up the area before leaving the camera’s view.

“Clearly, this woman is the person who planted the badge, although I do not she is the person who… who abducted Tim. She… she would not have had the time to …” Ziva’s voice faltered, and I quickly wrapped my arm around her slim waist, pulling her close to me and silently giving her strength. I felt her shiver, but she then took a deep breath and continued. “…time to take him without her absence being noticed. However, if we can find out who this woman is, then we can hopefully find out who the other person or persons are. Knowing Abby, it is likely that she knows this person- we can probably just ask her.”

“I’m afraid that isn’t possible, Ziva. Abigail was just taken to the hospital upon my request.” All of us turned sharply to see Ducky, his lined face grim, walk up to us. Ziva and I both tried to speak at once.

“What do you mean…”

“Is she alrigh…”

Ducky quickly raised both of his hands, stopping our questions. “Abigail has suffered a major emotional shock, and had a very violent panic attack. She wasn’t able to calm down, and for her health and the health of her fetus, I had her go to the hospital. She had to be sedated, and for that reason, and for the further emotional pain that your questions, well-intentioned as they are, would likely bring, I cannot allow you to ask her anything further about this case. I am sorry, but I hope you understand why I have to ask this of you.” Ducky pulled his fedora over his head, and then sighed, low and deep. “If you have any more questions for us, I am afraid they’ll have to wait, as Mr. Palmer and I have not been able to eat in quite a while. I should be back within twenty minutes.” The old Scotsman and I turned and left his steps heavy and his shoulders hunched. For a while, all Ziva and I could do was watch him leave, before Gibbs’ voice jarred us back into reality.

“Alright you two, if you want to help Abby out, we have to find this woman. So go to the damned custodial department and find out who the hell this person is!”

Ziva and I scurried off.

…..

“Our missing janitor is one Eva Maddox, who has been missing from work since four hours ago, when the tape last recorded her” I said as I sent the woman’s image onto the plasma. The Caucasian woman, with blonde hair pulled tightly back into a ponytail, stared out at us with sorrowful blue eyes. “She’s thirty-five, never been married, however she _was_ engaged to a Jason Colbrink for a short while. She was six months pregnant when he left her for another woman- he broke off the engagement only two months before they were going to be married. Two weeks later she went into labor and…” I swallowed, hard, a few times, the next few words sticking in my throat. “She… the baby was stillborn.” Painful memories assaulted me- Ziva lying broken on a hospital bed… hearing the news that my beautiful wife had miscarried… her agonized howl when she heard the news for herself…. I struggled to push the memories aside and finish the rest of my narrative. Ziva leaned against me heavily, and I could tell that she was thinking about the same thing.

“That is not all, Gibbs” Ziva continued, her voice pained. “Jason Colbrink’s new girlfriend had twins only seven months after he broke off the engagement, which meant…” A sharp, cynical voice interrupted her, and we all spun around to face the speaker.

“It meant that the cheating piece of shit got that bitch pregnant two months before he managed to completely destroy my life.”

Standing between two Metro LEOs, glaring at us beneath a mat of dirty blonde hair, was none other than Eva Maddox.  


	28. HalfHeart Part 3

_Ziva’s POV_

As I beheld the rage-filled person that was Eva Maddox, my memory brought itself back to a time of my former Mossad days. My _kidon_ unit and I had broken a terrorist/smuggler warehouse, and while none of the group was present at the decrepit building, their so-called “merchandise”- exotic animals to be sold on the black market- was there. Among the caged animals was a small jaguar, driven insane by its captivity. Eva’s flashing eyes and feral snarl reminded me of the crazed jungle cat that eventually had to be put down, so much so that I found myself stepping back a few steps. Even though I managed to catch myself, I still shuddered when Maddox’s hate-filled voice filled the bullpen.

“Go ahead. Lock me up. Interrogate me. I don’t give a damn. I’ll still get what I want.” Her hard blue eyes flipped from Gibbs to Tony and then to me before flicking back to rest on Gibbs. She lunged forward angrily, roaring nonsense, but then the LEOs pulled her back. Gibbs did not even flinch.

“Take her to interrogation room” he said as he motioned to two security guards who were rushing over. As the struggling Maddox was hauled away, Gibbs turned back to us.

“You two find _everything_ you can on Maddox. I’m going to talk to Fornell.” With that, he left.

…..

Half an hour later, after digging up everything that we could possibly find on Eva and handing it over to Gibbs, Tony and I stood in the observation room, watching Gibbs and Fornell, who were watching Maddox. Despite the fact that I knew the two were impressive interrogators, my impatience grew more and more as I continued to desperately wish the two of them would quit the staring contest with Eva and just skip to breaking her. Better yet, I wished that they would let me spend just five minutes with the evil woman. No lights, no camera, no audio, just Maddox and I, and a few old Mossad… tricks. I would get what we needed.

“Stop worrying Zi, Gibbs and Fornell will get what we need.” Tony’s voice, despite its softness, caused me to bristle slightly.

“I’m not…”

“Yeah you are. You’re pacing like a caged animal, and you only use contractions when you’re frustrated.” He gently pulled me into his arms, rubbing my shoulders soothingly. “Maybe you should go see the triplets, Zi. I’ll get you when Maddox confesses.”

“No” I said firmly. This clearly startled him, and I knew why. Normally I would be more than happy to see the triplets, especially when I did not get much of a chance to see them during our busy work day. However, this time was extremely different. “No” I repeated sharply. “I can’t stand by idly while Tim is likely being tortured, and will be killed if we don’t… brea… get Maddox to talk.” I was about to say more, but just then, Gibbs spoke.

“Where is my agent, Maddox?” His voice was low, but I could easily hear the barely controlled anger snapping in every word. “Why were those men killed?” Maddox did not flinch, but rather leaned forward.

“They died for who they are… were. They were all friends of that lying, soulless bastard who had _encouraged_ him to cheat on me. They _knew_ what he was doing, and they didn’t even pretend to try and stop him!” Maddox pounded her fist on the table, before regaining her composure. “Well, it may have taken a while, but I managed to find his friends. It was just a simple matter of picking out the ones with pregnant wives so I could send out a very clear message to Jason. I may not get to see his face when his time comes, but I sure as hell want him good and scared when my dear friend comes after him.” Maddox’s lips pulled back into a mocking sneer. “I’m so sorry about your agent,” she continued, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “but he just… got in the way. So my friend had to tie him up and had… had a little _fun_ with him.” The crazed woman’s sneer widened, and she shrugged. “He ran into us somewhat… unexpectedly. He _might_ live.” Eva leaned back in her chair, balancing it on two legs. “Unfortunately for you, I can’t give you your agent’s location just yet. It would ruin all of my plans, after all. I may be stuck here, but my friend is still around to finish the job.” Maddox slammed the legs down on the floor. Resting her chin on her hands, she glared at Gibbs. “Do what you want to me. Hell, put a watch out on that cheating bastard if you want. I won’t do you any good. The longer you ‘protect’ him, the longer my friend has with your agent. And I can guarantee you, that won’t go well for anyone. One way or another, I will have my revenge. So, if you want to see your man alive again, I would suggest that you leave both this case, and that piece of slime alone. I have nothing else to say to you.”

…..

“What in the hell do you expect Jethro!? No agency would every use a citizen like Colbrink as bait! Especially not for someone as dangerous as Maddox and her ‘friend’! He’s got a real threat against him, and he’s got a damn good chance of getting killed if he doesn’t have any protection!” Fornell and Gibbs stood face-to-face, both flushed and lived. Tony and I sat at our desks, lost. Both our technical and forensics experts were missing, and there was almost nothing we could do anymore for the case, save for a miracle.

“You think I’m putting that guy out there without any eyes? Hell no! Yeah, there’s a risk, but that bastard will kill _my_ agent and several others so Maddox can get her revenge! We need to stop this now!” Gibbs roared. He slammed his fist into his desk, causing both of us to jump. Fornell, the only person who remained unfazed by Gibbs’ outburst, opened his mouth to retaliate, but stopped when Director Vance called down from the balcony.

“Agent Gibbs, Agent Fornell. My office, now.” Without waiting for a response, he turned and left. After glaring at one another for a few more seconds, the two men walked stiffly up the stairs. After they had disappeared, I sighed deeply, even more stressed than before. Suddenly I felt the need to leave, and headed off to the nursery.

…..

Ten minutes later, all three of the triplets were surrounding me. Isaiah was busily pulling the hem of my shirt into his mouth. Every time I tried to pull it away from him, he grabbed it once again, and eventually I gave up trying and let him chew it. Kate lay curled up in my lap, fast asleep, ignoring her rambunctious brother. Tali was nestled comfortably in my arms, cooing softly and pulling at my hair. Eventually she lost interest and settled closer against me, gurgling contentedly as she listened to my heartbeat. I ran my fingers through soft blonde curls.

“I am sorry I have not been up here for a while you three.” I murmured to my eight-month-olds. Even though none of the triplets could understand me, I knew that they enjoyed listening to people speak, especially Tali. Even now, the eight-month-old girl wriggled with delight as she listened to my voice.

“There you are Zi.” Tony’s voice, as it came through the doorway, sounded strained. I looked up to see him leaning on the door frame, his face haggard. “Gibbs wants us.” I groaned quietly. “I know,” he whispered softly, and he walked over to me and picked up Kate. The little girl shifted, but did not wake up. The strained look his face disappeared. “Hi there Baby Girl. Daddy misses you so much. _All_ of you,” he added when Isaiah made a whimpering noise. “But we gotta find your Uncle McGee.” Sighing softly, he put the still-sleeping Kate in one of the nearby cribs, and then carefully extracted my shirt from Isaiah’s mouth. After Tali and him over to the nursery attendants, we left the room, Tony grabbing a handful of paper towels from a nearby restroom and handing them over to me. As I attempted to wipe the salvia off my shirt, I fired off questions for Tony.

“Did Gibbs tell you anything?”

“No” he replied. “Just popped out of Vance’s office and yelled at me to get you.”

“Did hefind something?”

“If he did, he isn’t telling me.”

“Did _you_ find something?”

“No Ziva, I-“

“Do you have _any_ idea what is going on?”

“Ziva!” he cried, turning back towards me abruptly. “I don’t know anything more than you do! Jeez, stop interrogation already!” Hurt, I began to respond, but just then Gibbs appeared.

“We just got an Agent In Distress signal from McGee. I don’t know how the hell he did it, but the techies think that they can get one of those locating signals to tell us where he is.” Without another word, he tuned and hurried towards MTAC, leaving us to run after him.

Inside the theater, a half dozen computer technicians were frantically tapping at keyboards under the glaring eyes of Director Vance and Agent Fornell. For a few tense moments, nothing was said. Suddenly one of the techies shouted out excitedly.

“I’ve got it!!” Everyone in the room quickly rushed over to the startled man, who, upon seeing the rushing mass of people, quickly sent the image to the main screen to avoid being crushed. Gazing up at the screen, I realized that I have no idea what I was looking at.

“Where is this?” I asked the techie sharply, staring intently at the satellite image of a jumble of buildings on the screen in front of us. The techie, clearly intimidated by my tone, shrank back in his seat.

“Um… it’s a small industrial area in northern Virginia. It wasn’t too long of a signal, but it wasn’t moving. Hopefully that means he he’s still there. He’s the address- it’s an abandoned furniture warehouse.” The techie handed Gibbs a printed piece of paper, which Gibbs and Fornell read quickly. Gibbs turned back to us and barked out a command.

“Let’s go!”

…..

45 minutes later, Gibbs, Tony and I sat in one of the Navy Chargers, scanning the dreary-looking building that was in front of us. The huge, decrepit, three-story warehouse was, in my eyes, a tactical nightmare. From our position in front of the building, I could already see three separate exits from the building, and I had no doubt that there were several more. Combined with the building size and our lack of knowledge of the building’s interior meant that the three of us and the dozen NCIS and FBI agents that accompanied us were at a distinct disadvantage. The perpetrator could easily take McGee and lose us in a maze of obstacles, not to mention the possibility of armed assailants that could ambush our small number and I told this to Gibbs. He grunted, not taking his eyes away from the lens of his binoculars.

“It is what it is. We don’t go in; we’re going to lose McGee for sure. Let’s talk to the others.”

Gibbs started up the car and drove to a point a block away where a mobile command van had been set up. Inside were the other six NCIS agents and six FBI agents, as well as the two other team leaders- Fornell and Agent Westman, the team leader who had saved us from the gang shootout months before. We spent the next half-hour laying out an assault plan and then put on our gear. After reviewing the rest of our safety procedures, we set off for McGee’s rescue. 


	29. Saved

_Tony’s POV_

Trotting up to the run-down factory behind Gibbs and Ziva, I swallowed back a lump of foreboding. Depending on what happened, we would either make it to McGee on time or all hell would break loose- and the consequences would be, needless to say, bad. Gritting my teeth, I forced my morbid thoughts away and struggled to focus on the operation. It didn’t help that I was carrying a weapon I had never liked- a damned Carbine rifle. Assault rifles were more Ziva’s thing- I would take my SIG Sauer any day of the week. My preferences didn’t matter, however. We needed the rifle’s range for this mission, so I carried it, reluctantly.

When we reached the doorway, Gibbs quietly tried the doorknob, but found it locked. He gave us a series of signals, and he and I took up defensive positions on either side of Ziva as she picked the lock. Seconds later she carefully pushed the door open.

“We’re in” Gibbs whispered into his mike. We flicked on the flashlights mounted on our rifles and cautiously stepped into the gloom.

Once we were inside, I quickly realized just how incredibly difficult this rescue was going to be. Although most of the machinery had been removed, there were still some broken parts, boxes, pillars, staircases, balconies and side rooms for potential assailants to hide in or behind. Gibbs held up his hand to stop us, and then in a barely perceptible whisper said, “Ziver, go up. See if you can find him.” Ziva nodded and left, brushing her fingers gently against my cheek as she passed me. I watched as she ascended the iron staircase, her flashlight cutting a bright yellow-white swath in front of her. She then turned a corner and was lost from my sight. A second later, a voice sounded over my earpiece, causing me to stiffen, relaxing only when I recognized it as Agent Westman’s voice.

“Anyone have a visual yet?” she whispered tersely.

“Negative” Fornell growled.

“Negative” Gibbs replied. “I just sent one of my agents upstairs.”

“I just sent two agents up as well.” Westman said. “They’ll identify themselves when they get up there. Out.”

“Copy that.” Fornell said. “I’m sending one of mine up as well. Out.”

When I heard that three more agents were joining Ziva, I let out a breath that I didn’t know I had been holding. Of course Ziva was more than capable of handling a threat, but it didn’t mean that I didn’t worry about her, especially in a bad situation like this one. Shifting my rifle to a more comfortable position, I followed Gibbs further into the building.

After thirty minutes of thorough searching, my nerves were frayed. Although we had searched the majority of the ground floor, we hadn’t seen or heard anyone, and it wasn’t helping that I could only see about five feet in front of me. Shadows would suddenly appear at the edge of my beam, and I would swing my rifle around only to discover some discarded box or a decrepit piece of machinery. Adding to my jumpiness was the fact that Ziva and I were separated, and I had only heard from her twice when we had to check in. Otherwise, her voice remained eerily absent, and I only heard the voices of Westman, Fornell and Gibbs checking on each other’s positions. I had just about taken as much as I could handle, and was seriously contemplating firing off a round to draw Maddox’s partner out when Ziva’s voice hissed over the earpiece, causing me to jump.

“I see light under a door. North side, third floor, near the deliveries entrance.”

“Copy that Ziva” Gibbs responded. “We’re coming up to meet you. Can any of you see anyone?”

“Negative. I’m going closer to find out who is there.”

“No!” Gibbs, Fornell and Westman said simultaneously. Gibbs continued. “Stay there, and do not engage anyone unless there is a flight risk. Wait for us.”

A pause.

“That’s an order, David.” Gibbs growled.

Ziva gave a sigh, and then said, “Understood” with clear reluctance. Gibbs nodded to me, and we took off as quickly and quietly as we could, while I prayed that Ziva wouldn’t break her orders.

Two minutes later we arrived at the location. Flashlight beams seared our eyes as my wife and the three other agents, two men and a woman, swung their rifles around to point them at us.

“Put those down. It’s just us.” Gibbs growled softly. The beams dropped to the ground, their reflected light illuminating the faces of the four agents. Ziva jerked her head towards the door in question. Harsh white light spilled out from beneath a crack at the bottom.

“We saw a few shadows cross and heard some voices, but they were too far away to make out any conversation.” Here she glared at Gibbs, who pointedly ignored her. “I cannot tell how many people are inside, nor if Tim is with them.” Gibbs turned back to the other two team leaders.

“We wait, we may lose the surprise advantage. I say we go in.” Fornell and Westman nodded in agreement, nd then Westman turned to one of the agents who had accompanied Ziva, a man that looked more bear than human.

“Say Manik, feel like busting a party?” Manik grinned, and then pulled out a cylindrical object from his belt. He held it up, and I saw that it was a flash-bang grenade. Ziva had already picked the door’s lock by this time, and he grasped the handle with his free hand. When he lifted the grenade, an indication that he was ready, the rest of us shouldered our rifles and flicked off the safeties. Westman gave Manik a nod.

With speed that was surprising for a man so large, Manik flung open the door and hurled the grenade into the room. I looked away until I heard the grenade’s pop, and then wasted no time running into the room, roaring “federal agents!” Within seconds, everything went completely chaotic.

Dozens of armed assailants appeared from behind crates and broken machinery firing rounds from a large assortment of arms. We dove for cover almost immediately, but behind me I could hear the choked gurgle. Before I could turn around to see who it was, a gunman popped up not six feet in front of me and fired his gun. I grunted as the bullet slammed into my chest.

“Tony!” Ziva roared. I heard another shot, this time from Ziva’s gun, and my shooter collapsed, a bullet between his eyes. My frantic wife ran over to me as I staggered behind a crate and supported me, her face a mask of concern. Once we were completely behind the crate, I gently batted away her hands and unzipped my jacket.

“I’m fine Zi. Really. The vest stopped it. I was just shocked, that’s all.” Zipping up my jacket once again I asked her, “Have you seen Tim?”

“No, but- wait. Over there!” She pointed, and I just managed to make out a door partially hidden by a stack of crates. The door was cracked open, and the inside was dark, but I made out a sudden flicker of movement from within. Catching Ziva’s gaze, I nodded to her, and she to me. Without another word, we ran off towards the door as inconspicuously as possible, dodging bullets that flew overhead- not an easy task. Ziva was hit in the shoulder, but it was stopped by her vest and we continued onward. When we had finally reached the door, Ziva and I went over every inch to make sure that there were no trip wires, and then my wife placed her hand on the handle.

“Cover me” she murmured. I lifted my rifle, and without hesitation, she flung open the door and stepped inside the dark room. We flicked our flashlights on and scanned the room. Our beams lit a seated person, and we both gasped.

It was Tim.

He was seated in a simple wooden chair, his hands behind his back, wearing a pair of tattered jeans and nothing else. Fresh blood ran in red rivulets down a mat of scabs on his bare back, and bruises covered his entire body. When the flashlight beams passed over his head, he raised it slowly, adding to the horror. Both of his eyes were almost entirely swollen shut, his lip had swelled up, and he had a huge laceration running from the bottom of his left ear to his chin. His lips slowly parted, and a raspy voice echoed the room.

“Who… there…” Those two small words seemed to take all of his strength, and his head slumped back. Forgetting caution, Ziva and I rushed forward.

“Tim, it’s us. Ziva and Tony. We are going to get you out of here, okay?” Ziva said softly as she went to his back. Her face was tight with pain, and I knew that she was thinking about her time in Somalia. Tim stiffened, causing some of his scabs to open up and bleed. His breathing quickened.

“No… get… out… of… here… not...” Before he could say another word, there was the unmistakable double click of two shotgun rounds being chambered, the lights flicked on, and a blue-grey steel barrel was pressed against the side of Tim’s neck.

“Make one more move, and I’ll blow his damn head off.” The voice, cold and harsh, was female and came from the shadows. Ziva froze. “Drop your weapons” the voice commanded. When we didn’t immediately obey, the woman shoved the barrel against Tim’s neck, jerking his body to one side. We quickly dropped our weapons. “Side arms too. Kick them away from you.” As we did this, Ziva spoke.

“Colbrink cheated on you as well, did he not?” I was startled by this question, and looked at my wife quizzically. She was staring intently at the dark space where the woman was. “Maddox contacted you because she wanted revenge. She knew you would help her.” A low chuckle filled the air, and the woman stepped out to reveal herself. I gasped, recognizing her from her photograph.

It was Jason Colbrink’s girlfriend, the one he had an affair with while engaged to Maddox.

“Lucy Cragston.” Ziva said quietly. “You married Jason after having the twins, but then you got a divorce.”

“He cheated on me. He left me and my two children for some other girl and stopped paying child support. I’m working a shitty job, and that bastard has the gall to tell me that he can’t spare the money! He went to Cancun last year- and my kids and I live in a single-bedroom apartment! So when Maddox told me her plan to get back at him, I was more than happy to help.” Cragston moved around to the front of Tim and picked up one of the rifles, kicking the other one and the two pistols away from her.

“And the people outside?” I asked, stalling for time. I tried to see a way out of the situation, but I was at a loss. Lucy went over and locked the door.

“Maddox’s brother is the head of a gang. He was more than willing to send them over when he heard about the plan. Now, get behind your friend there.” We got behind Tim as Lucy leveled the rifle at us. “Say your goodbyes now, because you will not leave this room alive” she growled. I intertwined my fingers with Ziva’s.

“I’m sorry.” I murmured to her. She squeezed my hand in response, and then we both put our free hands on Tim’s shoulders. Looking down the barrel of the gun, I searched my head desperately for something, anything to get us out of here, but nothing came up. My breathing quickened Lucy’s finger tightened on the trigger…

The door flew open, there was a flash and a bang. Three shots filled the air, and Lucy’s body fell to the floor. Gibbs, Fornell and Westman stood where she had been, all breathing heavily. They swung their rifles around the room, checking for any other assailants, and then rushed over to us. Within seconds they had freed Tim and handed us back our weapons. Gibbs draped a NCIS jacket over Tim’s shoulders, and then looked at all three of us.

“Let’s go home” he growled.


	30. Reunited

_Ziva’s POV_

Tim lay on his side on a bed at Bethesda Naval Hospital, his heavily bandaged hands wrapped firmly in his wife’s shaking hands. Abby, sitting in a chair, was leaning as close to her husband as her six-month-pregnant belly would allow, tears of relief running freely down her face as she murmured soft, loving words to Tim. As I watched the reunited couple, I thought back to the events that had passed after we rescued Tim.

_Earlier_

At the abandoned factory, it had only taken us seconds to find out just how badly injured Tim had been in his ordeal. As two of the FBI agents who had joined us pulled Cragston’s body out of the room to join the other dead gang members, I went once again to free Tim from the handcuffs he had been placed in. As I removed my lock-picking tools from my belt, I caught sight of Tim’s mutilated wrists and sucked in a breath. Both of his wrists were red and swollen, indicating that they were broken, and his hands were crossed with deep lacerations.

As soon as he was released from his handcuffs, Tim groaned and fell forward, nearly falling out of his chair. It was clear that the handcuffs had been the only things holding him up. Tony and I managed to catch him before he collapsed completely, and supported him as Gibbs called for an ambulance. By then Tim was unconscious, and we made a quick decision to lay him on the floor to avoid the danger of falling.

While we waited for the paramedics to arrive, Gibbs dispatched two agents to meet the ambulance and then filled us in on what had happened while we had been occupied with Cragston. According to him, the other agents, after overcoming their initial shock from the attack, had gotten themselves organized and had been able to dispatch the gang members in a relatively short time. I then asked him about our own people, and the room suddenly went extremely quiet. Westman quickly excused herself and hurried out of the room, causing my heart to rise to my throat. I quietly braced myself as Fornell looked away from us.

“Agent Manik was shot in the throat.” Gibbs said quietly. “There was nothing we could do for him. He’s gone.” He turned away from us and started to clean his rifle, his face grim. I felt my mood darken as well. Even though I had only known Manik for a few short hours, the man had struck me as a good reliable agent, one you would want by your side in a firefight. As I looked back towards the room’s entrance, I thought of something that I had said to Tony in the elevator.

_We pursue them, but we just keeping making targets of ourselves._

The shrill wail of an ambulance cut through my grim thoughts. I shook my head and struggled to bring myself back to the present situation. I could hear the faint voices of the paramedics echoing through the large building. Within minutes, four blue-uniformed men were lowering a stretcher next to Tim’s side. The men wasted no time in carefully loading and strapping Tim onto the plastic board and then carrying him down to the ambulance. Tony and I started forward to follow them when Gibbs put up his hand to stop us. We protested, but he shook his head.

“There’s nothing more we can do for him now. Go home you two. He’s in the doctor’s hands now.”

…..

Hours later, Tony and I had left the triplets with one of our neighbors who had a daughter training in early childhood and were sitting in the E.R. waiting room of Bethesda Naval Hospital with Gibbs and Ducky. Tim was still in surgery, and all of us were sitting on edge. From the doctor’s report, we knew that besides the two broken wrists and multiple lacerations, Tim had suffered three broken ribs, one deep knife that had become badly infected, a concussion, two badly swollen eyes and a back that was almost completely covered in whip cuts and badly healed scabs. Of course, the doctors had no idea what kind of mental and emotional damage that Tim had suffered along with his physical wounds.

As we waited, I suddenly heard the rapid clicking of boot heels, followed almost immediately by a frantic voice, terse with urgency.

“I need to know the condition of Timothy McGee, like _right now_. It’s a life-and-death situation. Well, maybe not that severe, but I still have to see him…”  Gibbs, Ducky, Tony and I turned to see Abby pacing rapidly in front of the desk of a very haggard-looking receptionist. The receptionist was having a very difficult time getting a word past Abby’s ramble-mode.

“Look, I know you can’t tell just anyone his status, ‘cause he’s a special agent and all, but I’m his _wife_ you see…”

“Ma’am…”

“… and he needs me to be by his side, and I can’t just leave him there with a bunch of strangers. I know they’re qualified doctors, but he just survived being beaten by a serial killer and…”

“Ma’am, I can’t…”

“Don’t tell me that you don’t know anything. You’ve got all those computers right there. I know all you have to do is press a few keys and boom, you’re in. Just please let me know how my Timmy is doing, _please_! You’ve got to…”

“MA’AM!!!” the receptionist yelled, her patience finally gone. Several people, including Tony and myself, jumped in surprise. Taking a deep breath, the woman continued in a softer voice. “Ma’am, I was going to tell you that your husband is still in surgery. Right now all I can tell you is that he is stable, but I can’t allow you to go in there- the surgeons need to do their jobs right now. I know that it is difficult, but please take a sheet and the second that I know something, I will inform you, alright?”

By this time, Gibbs, unnoticed by anyone else, had suddenly appeared by Abby’s side. He gently placed his arm around her shoulder and steered her away from the irritated receptionist. As he sat her down in one of the nearby chairs, her voice suddenly stopped and tears ran down her face as she rested her hands on her swollen belly. I desperately wished that I had the triplets with me to help Abby calm down. However, I knew that the hospital was no place for the eight-month-old children whose immune systems were still developing. However, I could still provide some measure of comfort and reached over to take one of Abby’s hands in mine, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I am sure that he will be just fine Abby. Tim is strong. He will pull through for you and the baby.” Abby managed a weak smile, but either would not or could not say something in return. I gave her hand another squeeze, desperately wishing that I could do more for her, and settled back into my chair to wait.

Hours later, as I was beginning to drift off into a somewhat uncomfortable sleep, the receptionist suddenly called out Abby’s name.

“Mrs. McGee?” My head shot up along with Abby’s, and she rose out of her chair, her face pensive. As she walked over to the receptionist’s desk, the rest of us followed her, causing the tired-looking nurse to give us a raised eyebrow. Each one of us immediately gave her well-rehearsed answers.

“I’m his father” Gibbs growled menacingly.

“His uncle” Ducky said calmly.

“Brother” Tony grunted.

“Sister-in-law” I snapped.

The receptionist’s eyebrow went up even further, but something in our faces must have made her re-think any thoughts about stopping us. Instead she was quick to look down at her computer.

“Mr. McGee’s surgery was just completed. He is being moved room 265 in the I.C. unit and his condition seems to be stable at the moment. However, the doctors do believe that he will wake up soon.” Abby let out a small, strange sound, somewhere between a sigh and a gasp as her hands flew to her swollen abdomen.

“Can I see him?” she asked quietly, in a very un-Abby-like manner. The receptionist nodded, but as our ragged group began to move towards the I.C. unit, she stopped us with a raised finger.

“I can’t allow anyone other than Mrs. McGee to stay longer than 30 minutes. I’m sorry, it’s hospital policy.” We nodded, and wasted no more time in rushing to McGee’s room.

…..

Remarkably, it only took Tim an hour and a half after his surgery had finished to wake up, albeit with a limited speaking ability. He gave us a somewhat groggy grin as we filed into the cramped hospital room, his eyes bright as soon as he saw Abby, who wasted no time in rushing over to his side, tears streaming down her face. Tim gave a soft gasp as soon as Abby was at his side and reached out with his heavily bandaged hands to ever-so-gently cup her face. As we watched the touching scene, I found myself suddenly wrapped in Tony’s strong arms, his warm breath tickling the back of my neck. I leaned back into his warm chest and sighed happily.

After a few minutes, Gibbs stepped forward, his expression unreadable. Tim looked up at our boss, his face somewhat pensive. He took a deep breath, winced, and then in spoke in a whispering, raspy voice.

“I…can’t…remember much…Boss.” Each word was clearly a struggle for him, and Abby looked none-too-happy at what her husband was trying to do. Regardless, Tim pressed on.

“Abby…asked…for…food. Went…to…get…it… saw, saw…” He paused, his face twisted with frustrated concentration. Abby made an angry sound, but Tim rested his hand on her swollen abdomen to stop her. Taking a low breath, he struggled on.

“Hard…to…remember…sorry…boss.” Suddenly, Gibbs walked over and rested his hand on Tim’s shoulder.

“Don’t apologize. Maddox is in lockup, and her partner is dead. You’re back, that’s what matters.” He tapped Tim lightly on the top of the head before motioning to Ducky and heading towards the door. He turned back briefly to look at Tony and me.

“Try not to stay too long you too. And Tim, get better. You’re too good to lose.” With that eloquent statement, he left. Tony gave a low chuckle, shaking my body. I leaned closer to him.

“Welcome back Tim.” I said softly, watching the man who was like a brother to me. He shifted in his bed to look at me, but I could clearly see that he was not far from falling asleep. Grasping Abby’s hand firmly, he managed a small nod.

“It’s…good…to…be…back…Ziva.” His eyes drifted shut.

“So…good…to…be…home.”


	31. Holiday Time

_Tony’s POV_

“I still fail to see the point.” Ziva, with her arms crossed, was leaning against the frame of our garage with a highly amused look across her face. As she watched me struggle, a soft chuckle escaped from her lips every few seconds. “The lights, I understand. But these? They are… I am not sure what their purpose is.”

“They’re reindeer Zi,” I grunted, hammering a particularly stubborn stake into the ground. Straightening up, I put my hand on my lower back and winced. “You know, the eight reindeer that pull Santa’s sleigh? Well, nine, I guess, if you count Rudolf.”

“The one with the red nose, yes?”

“Exactly. Poor guy got left out of everything just because he was different.” I knelt down once again, my back protesting, and hammered another stake into the ground.

“It would make sense to leave him out. A red nose that glows bright enough to be through fog would make him a prime target for predators. They would target and take him down in no time at all. What?” She asked as I looked up, horrified.

“Do me a favor, Love. DON’T teach the triplets about Rudolf, alright?” Ignoring her rolled eyes, I hammered the last stake in gratefully. “Anyway, it’s a Christmas tradition. I mean, what could be more perfect than your own mess-free Christmas reindeer?” I asked. Ziva shook her head, but didn’t say another word. Instead, she handed me the extension cord. I proudly plugged it into the octopus socket and then went into the garage and prepared to flip the switch.

“Watch, and be amazed.” I said in as grand of a voice as I could muster. I flipped the switch and watched with glee as the reindeer, eight in all, lit up in a fantastic, brilliant display. I grinned- I had never seen anything so wonderful.

Then a spark jumped from one of the reindeer.

With a massive POP and a shower of sparks, all eight reindeer blew out in a spectacular fashion.

As I stood stock-still, staring with open-mouthed horror at the dead reindeer. Ziva roared with laughter, tears streaming down her face. “Oh… Tony… that was… absolutely… amaz…” She couldn’t even finish. Clutching her sides, she gasped for air, only to break out into further gales of laughter when she saw my face.

“It’s **not** funny!” I yelped. Of course, my indignant tone only served to further her laughter. Grumbling, I reluctantly flipped off the switch and went over investigate. The deer themselves seemed to be in relatively good shape, but the octopus socket was fried. Growling now, I unplugged the extension cord and began to tug at a stake, intending to pull it up.

“No, leave it.” Ziva said, still chuckling. “Let’s go inside for now and finish decorating there. I will see what I can do with them later.” Although I had no desire to be shown up by my wife’s repairing abilities, I had no doubt in her abilities to fix things, but it didn’t make me feel any better. Still, she was right, and I followed her in, albeit reluctantly. As we stepped back into the warmth, Engel immediately bounded over to us, a squeaky toy clenched firmly in his mouth, his tail wagging madly. He gave the toy a few rapid squeaks, and then looked hopefully past us, silently begging to go outside.

“Sorry buddy.” I said as I closed the door quickly. “I’ve had enough cold for one day.” Engel gave me a disgusted look and trotted away, his tail held aloft. Sighing at his dramatics and Ziva’s barely muffled laughter; I hung my coat up and went into the guestroom to work on decorating the house.

This year Ziva and I had invited our NCIS family over for a holiday celebration on Christmas Eve, three weeks after Tim’s rescue. Everyone had agreed that a celebration was sorely needed. So, with the rest of the team providing the side dishes for the party, the triplets spending the day with their Grandpa Gibbs and Jackson Gibbs, we were left to decorate the house and make up the main dish.

Ziva of course, with her culinary skills, had happily taken over the cooking responsibilities, leaving me with the main bulk of the decorating duties. Due to the fact that Ziva was Jewish and my own Christmases had lacked any real decorations thanks to my father, I knew I had one hell of a job in front of me.

“Don’t tell Ziva this, but I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing here” I muttered to Engel. The German Shepherd had already gotten over his sulking and was sniffing at the artificial pine garland that I had bought, sneezing when the plastic needles tickled his nose. As I laughed at his startled expression, he gave me a look that very plainly said _“whatever!”_ and wandered away.

Shaking my head in amusement, I steeled myself for a long day of decoration.  

…..

Hours later the last strand of lights was hung, the last bit of baking finished and the last setting placed at the table. By now Gibbs and his father had arrived with the all-too-eager triplets in tow. The three children, nearly nine months old, wiggled happily in their adoptive grandfather’s arms as their eyes grew large and round at the sight of all the wonderful decorations… that they could try to destroy.

As Gibbs set the three troublemakers in their portable playpen, Jackson Gibbs set a neat stack of gifts under the artificial tree in the front room. As Jackson greeted the two of us- with a handshake for me and a kiss on the hand for Ziva- the younger Gibbs stood staring at the menorah that adorned our front window. It was a beautiful adornment, made of silver and holding nine ocean-blue candles, glowing in the starlight.

“It was my mother’s.” Ziva said quietly. “When… when she died, my Aunt Nettie kept it until I lived on my own. It is my last tie to Israel, one I hope will never be broken.” Ziva’s voice trailed off, and she straightened the _shamash_ *candle unconsciously, a small, sad smile crossing her face. I rested my hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, knowing how much this meant to her. She gave me a small smile of appreciation.

“It’s beautiful Zivers” Gibbs said softly. “I’m glad this part of your culture is still with you.” He gave Ziva a small kiss on the forehead. He then pointed out the window. “Abbs and McGee are here” he growled before disappearing into the kitchen. Seconds later the McGees, arrived. Tim was looking good, especially considering what he had been through. Although both of his wrists were still bound in casts, and it was clear his ribs were still healing, the bruises and lacerations on his face and arms were gone, and he moved with ease, showing no pain. Abby, six-and-a-half months pregnant, stood next to him, grinning widely. Much to my surprise, neither of the two had any presents- or so I thought, until Abby pulled me to her car and opened the trunk.

I groaned. The trunk was almost completely filled with presents of all shapes and sizes. I glanced at the visible tags and groaned once more when I saw that most of them were made out to the triplets. Abby grinned at my displeasure.

“What do you expect Tony? Timmy and I _are_ their godparents after all! We _have_ to spoil them- it’s a social rule! Anyway, these aren’t _all_ for the triplets- there are some here for the others as well. But I need your help bringing them in. Our neighbors helped us get them in the car, but Tim can’t really carry anything, and I can only carry small packages thanks to this little one.” Abby patted her six-and-a-half month belly. I sighed. Not only was Abby coercing me into manual labor, but she was also getting me to spoil my own children. As I pulled out a pile of packages, a familiar Scottish accented voice spoke from behind me.

“Abigail, dear, I am certain that Anthony and Ziva have done an excellent job providing for Caitlyn, Tali and Isaiah. I don’t think that there is a need for a pile of gifts larger than the three of them combined.” Ducky, chuckling, came up to stand by us, his own arms filled to the brim with gifts. Behind him, Jimmy, with Breena on his arm, looked with wide-eyed astonishment and the enormous pile of gifts. I adjusted my grip on the gifts I was holding, shook Ducky’s hand, greeted Jimmy somewhat cordially (I managed to avoid using the words “Autopsy Gremlin” at least), and gave Breena a one-armed hug before leading the group into the house.

Once everyone had somehow managed to get all of the presents under the too-small tree in the front room, the party got into full swing. Food was spooned onto plates, stories were told and jokes were made. Abby, being her usual fun-loving self, had managed to sneak in a sprig of mistletoe, springing it on any unsuspecting couple that she could. Eventually we managed to get it away from her and, after hiding it, started on the presents, bringing the triplets out of their bedroom to let them enjoy unwrapping. Of course, they received the most presents and were absolutely delighted by their brand-new bounty. A pile of stuffed animals (including three miniature farting hippos), new onesies (Tim had managed to find ones that looked like our NCIS uniforms), and dozens of baby toys littered the floors. One of my favorites was Gibbs’ gifts to the triplets- three sturdy-looking toy Chargers that looked ready to roll out to the crime scenes. The rest of the gifts were passed to their recipients, “ooh”s and “ahh”s and “thank you”s were made, and all-too-soon the party wound down to an end. The last bites of food were eaten, cups were drained, wrapping paper was recycled and Jimmy, who had clearly imbibed in too much “adult” eggnog, was leaning heavily on poor Breena’s arm, trying his best to sing the Lumberjack Song. Rolling my eyes, I helped Ducky gather the Palmers’ presents and lead Jimmy out the door. After waving goodbye to the couple, I went back inside, saying goodbye to Tim and Abby, and the two Gibbs. As I was closing the door behind our guests, a burst of light caught my eye, and I turned, my eyes widening.

All eight reindeer were brightly lit, their plastic heads swinging slowly in a majestic manner. Not only had the reindeer been re-lit, but a sleigh with a waving Santa, with a several toys and a menorah sticking out of his sack. The multi-colored lights cast a sparkling glow on the surrounding snow.  

“Wha… how..”

“You overloaded the socket.” Ziva said with a chuckle, resting her head on my arm. “I just got a surge protector. Simple electrical work, really.” Looking over, I saw her grinning mischievously and gently pushed her head with my arm, making her laugh even more. “While you were working in the back, I put these up. I thought you might enjoy it.” Wrapping my arms around Ziva, I drew her close and inhaled her familiar scent. Although Ziva had already given me a number of gifts for both Hanukkah and Christmas, as I had for her, this was my favorite so far.

“Thank you Zi. My mom used to put these up. That’s why…”

“It is why you were so adamant to put them up. I know. Your father told me last Christmas.” I stiffened slightly at these words, not sure what to think about my father, whom I had not seen in a while. Still, it was a nice gesture, and I knew that Ziva wanted me to be happy. I gave her a light squeeze, and wiped my misty eyes. Swallowing past a lump in my throat, I went over to the menorah, where I had hidden a small present, and handed over to Ziva, who looked at me with confusion.

“Go ahead, open it” I said with a smile. She did, and then gasped as she pulled out a small, highly polished rosewood jewelry box. I gently turned it over so that she could see the Hebrew script carved on the top.

זיוה דויד

“My name” she murmured softly. “But, how… wh…”

“Gibbs was a huge help in this.” I said quietly. “He helped me make it. I had to practice on scrap wood for _months._ But it was worth it worth it in the end. Abby helped me find your name in Hebrew so that I could carve it. I know it’s probably nowhere near Gibbs’ skill level, but I felt that you deserved something special for your Star of David.” Anything else I may have said was instantly cut off by a kiss.

“It is perfect” Ziva breathed when she broke off from the kiss. I could see tears in her eyes, and she looked down to stroke the box. “Thank you.”

“Happy Hanukkah Love.”

“Merry Christmas Ahava.”


	32. Chatter

_Ziva’s POV_

“ _That_ ’ I growled, kicking a rock into a wall with more force than was absolutely necessary “was one of the worst interviews I have had to take.” Tony, who was walking beside me as we left the dingy bar we had just finished an interview at, made a small “mm-hm” noise but did not look up from his iPhone. He was texting McGee with our interview findings. We had just finished speaking with one of Tony’s old contacts from Baltimore in connection with a case involving a missing Marine who was suspected of stealing and selling military arms, and he had been a complete chauvinistic ass the entire time, even asking me to come out to the back of his bar to “see if the handcuffs worked properly”. It had taken all my resolve not to drop the man and allow Tony, who for some reason was highly amused by the whole situation, to interview him.

I heard the sound of running footsteps behind us, and turned around, emitting a groan when I saw that the contact, Lee Ricardo, was sprinting towards us. As he drew up to us, gasping for breath, I had to resist the urge to take a step back from the greasy bar owner. As he opened his mouth to speak, I held up a finger to stop him.

“Listen, Ricardo, you had better have information for us, or I will personally kick your disgusting ass back to your bar.” Crossing my arms so that my wedding ring was clearly displayed, I glared at the CI. Rather than being discouraged, as I had hoped, Ricardo actually seemed to be even further discouraged, going so far as to lean in close enough to me so that I was almost overwhelmed by his stale beer-and-cigarette smell.

“Oh, I gotcha some info, alright an’ maybe something more if you ask real nice _bonita_ …” he winked at me and clicked his tongue. That was the last stick… straw. Grabbing Ricardo’s arm, I forced it behind his back and added pressure until he yelped with pain. Doing my very best not to inhale the man’s awful scent, I leaned in towards his ear.

“Listen,” I growled. “I am a _married_ woman, and I have had enough of your chauvinistic attitude. So I am giving you two options. You may either give us the information _voluntarily_ , or I will get it from you using a much more… _painful_ manner.” I gave Ricardo’s arm more of a twist, producing an even higher-pitched yelp. “Do. You. Understand. Me?” I hissed.

“Owowowow! Yeah, I got it! I got it! Look, Sarge’s buddy, that guy I told ya was wit’ him a couple days ago? His name is Tyrone Cotta- he owns a smoke shop downtown. Sarge would go there a lot- said he had a problem wit’ smokin’. Ty kept sneakn’ smokes into Sarge’s Navy base for him. He was really good at sneakin’ stuff in an’ out of that base. Can you please let go of me now?!!!” His voice rose even further, and, with some reluctance, I released the slimy bastard’s arm and shoved him away from me.

“ _Thank you_ so very much Mr. Ricardo. Please stay nearby in case we should need further information from you.” I said sweetly, giving him a sarcastic smile. Ricardo’s head bobbed nervously and then he dashed off. Behind me, I heard Tony chuckle softly and I whirled around, glaring at him. Tony, being Tony, merely responded with a wide grin.

“ _Bonita,_ eh? Reminds me of those gangsters we caught years ago eh? You sure put ol’ Ricardo in his place, didn’t you Sweetchee- Unnn!” Tony groaned as I hit him in the solar plexus.

“I believe that we are done here.” I growled and stalked back to the Charger. Behind me, I heard Tony gasping for air. “You-you got i-it L-love.”

…..

Back at the Navy Yard, I told Gibbs about the results of our unsavory interview, and I noticed Gibbs’ lips curve upwards in the barest hint of a smile when he heard what I had done to Ricardo, but he did not make any comments. Instead, he turned to Tim, who had begun typing as soon as I had said Tyrone’s name and his business.

Here it is Boss.” Tim said without looking up from his computer. “Tyrone Cotta, owner of the ‘Smoky Air’ tobacco shop.” All four of us rolled our eyes at the name. “Annnyway… It’s on T Street downtown.” Gibbs gave Tim a curt nod.

“Alright. McGee, you’re with me. Tony, Ziva, go through Cotta’s records, his friends and his family. Find out what we’re missing here.” Gibbs slipped on his jacket and left without another word, leaving Tim to hurry after him.

Inwardly, I groaned. Of course I hated deskwork, but it had been made even worse now that I could no longer safely allow the triplets to stay in the bullpen with us- the ten-month-olds were too adept at crawling and getting into dangerous things. There was no use in arguing the situation, of course- Gibbs was gone, and so with a sigh, I turned on my computer and began to search for what I could find on Tyrone.

Sometime later, as I was doing my best to navigate a particularly confusing records site, I noticed Tony had gotten up and was stretching. He saw me watching him and gave an exaggerated yawn and pushed his chair in. Cracking his neck, he gave me a grin and a wink.

“Well Zi, I don’t know about you, but I need a break. Wanna go see the triplets?” His suggestion was all I needed. Shutting off my computer, I grabbed Tony’s hand as he left his desk and we walked to the nursery. As we entered, we were greeted by the familiar sight of pale yellow walls decorated with oversized pictures of cartoonish animals. Brightly colored toys were scattered around the room while six infants of various ages, including our own three troublemakers, crawled, wiggled or scooted in an attempt to evade the three caretakers present in the room. One of the caretakers, a tall, African-American who I vaguely remembered was named Nyah, greeted us with a smile and turned to the triplets, who were scattered around the room, chasing their peers around.

“Kate, Tali, Isaiah, who’s here!?” she chirped brightly. All three shrieked happily when we said hello and began to crawl over as fast as they could, reaching our feet in record time. Tali, who had more or less bumped into my legs, was looking up towards me with a slightly confused look on her face. That was when it happened.

“Ima-ma?”

My jaw dropped and I gasped, not entirely sure I had heard my daughter correctly. Tali gave a grin when she heard my voice.

“Ima-ma!” she exclaimed proudly, and patted my leg. “Ima-ma, Ima-ma, Ima-ma!” She then reached up with her arms, demanding to be picked up. Still stunned, I scooped her up and held her close as her tiny hands tickled my face.

“What was that _tateleh_? What did you call me Sweetie?” I whispered. Tali turned her face towards mine, her soft grey eyes bright. She gave me a grin, one that reflected her father’s, before burying her head in my shoulder. However, it was not Tali, but Kate and Isaiah who replied to my question.

“Ima!” Kate squealed proudly, reaching out from Tony’s arms towards me.

“Mama!” Isaiah shrieked indignantly, copying his sister’s motions.

“Ima-ma!” Tali chuckled.

Looking over, I saw that Tony’s eyes were wide open, and I could feel tears gathering at the corners of my eyes. Oblivious to what they had done, the triplets started to babble at one another once again.

“Their first words Tony.” I croaked. I went over to him and laid my head on his shoulder, and he kissed my forehead.

“Their first words” he murmured in reply.


	33. Baby 'Gee

_Ziva’s POV_

It was now early March, just two weeks away from the triplet’s first birthdays. Ever since they had spoken their first words, Isaiah, Kate and Tali had enthusiastically increased their vocabulary over the following two months- “da-da” quickly followed “ma-ma”, and not long after that, words such as “A-gel” (Engel), “ ‘Gee (McGee)”, “Bee (Abby)”, “Gib (Gibbs)”, “yes”, and their personal favorite- “No!”  To add to their fun new language skills, the three were now attempting to walk, and while yet unable to walk unassisted, they were able to pull themselves up and walk a few steps with support. Tony and I had been running ragged trying to keep them out of trouble and danger, and yet I could not be prouder to see our little ones grow so quickly.

Even now the three were slowly yet determinedly making their way around Abby’s office, where I was taking a break from work (and Tony, who had been talking non-stop about the Godfather movie).The triplets were babbling and chuckling as they did their best to walk on their own. Abby, nine months pregnant and due soon, sat at her computer, laughing at her adopted nieces’ and nephew’s antics as they toddled around her lab, occasionally stumbling into my arms.  As Isaiah desperately clung onto her leg, Abby gave him a huge smile.

“Hey there Lil’ Guy! I tell you Ziva, I can’t believe how fast these three have grown!” Suddenly she grimaced and cried out, leaning over and clutching her heavily swollen belly. Isaiah yelped as he was shaken loose from Abby’s leg and landed sharply on his backside. He started to whimper, and I automatically scooped him up as I made my way over to Abby’s side. She held her hand up to stop me, and breathed deeply, her breath coming out as a sharp hiss. A few seconds later, she slowly straightened up, resting one hand on her back.

“I’m… I’m okay, Ziva, really. Just… just some Braxton-Hicks’. That’s all.” She let at a sigh, and then smiled. “See, just fine. That one was strong- it caught me off guard.” Abby picked up Tali, who had been batting at her adoptive aunt’s legs, chanting “Bee, Bee, Bee, Bee” over and over. Catching my raised eyebrow, she sighed. “Really Ziva, I’m just fine! Though… didn’t you say you had some bad Braxton-Hicks before these three were born?” Before I could answer, a familiar voice rang through the lab.

“Zi? You here? Whoops, sorry Lisa!” Tony stumbled around Abby’s replacement, Lisa Yoong, who glared at him as he gave her a weak grin and pointed towards Abby’s office. “They in there?” Lisa didn’t stop glaring, but she did give him a sharp nod before returning to the microscope she had been looking into before my husband’s untimely arrival. Tony shook his head and hurried into the office, picking up Kate as he entered, bobbing her on his hip.

“Hey Zi, hey Abs! How are these little terrors doing, huh?” Tony chuckled as Kate tapped at his face with a tiny hand, cheerfully chanting “da-da”, looking as innocent as could be. “Sorry to have to interrupt Zi, but Gibbs wants you back in the bullpen- we might have found a break in a cold case.” Noticing Abby’s sudden forlorn look (she had been banned from doing just about anything in her own lab), I offered her my hand.

“Come on, Abby. I am sure Gibbs will not mind if you stay in the bullpen with us.” Abby grinned and transferred Tali to her hip before following us out of the lab.

……

Thirty minutes later, inside the bullpen, the five us were seated in the bullpen trying to decrypt an email trail from a cold case. The triplets had been returned, rather reluctantly, to the nursery. As I was bringing up my email, the computer suddenly froze up.  

“ _Benzona!_ You are _zevel_!” Muttering a further stream of Hebrew and Arabic curses under my breath, I reached out to smack my computer- hard. A laugh sounded from the other end of the bullpen where Abby was sitting at the vacant desk behind Gibbs’ desk.

“Take it easy Ziva! Patience is the only thing that works with these computers!” Her hand on her heavily swollen belly, Abby slowly made her way over to me. I pushed back my chair to give her some room while she leaned over and began typing rapidly at my keyboard, her eyes intent on my screen. A few minutes later, the screen came back to life and Abby gave me a chuckle.

“See Ziva? There’s noth- Ahh!” Abby’s sharp cry filled the room as she stumbled and clutched at her belly, crying in pain. I stood up quickly, wrapping my arms around her heavy frame as she gasped and trembled in clear pain. A minute passed before her shaking subsided and she was able to stand on her own. I grabbed a Kleenex from my desk and passed it over to Abby, who took it gratefully and wiped her sweaty face. She turned to Tim, who had rushed over as soon as he heard her cry and gave him a wane smile.

“Timmy, I think it’s time to go to the birthing center.”

…..

Half an hour after the McGees had left the Navy Yard, I pulled into the lot a small birthing center in the suburbs of D.C. Months ago, Abby and Tim had asked Tony, Gibbs and I to be present at the birth. Abby had told me that she wanted her baby to be born surrounded by his or her adoptive family. The three of us had readily agreed, and while Tony and Gibbs where delayed with paperwork and taking care of the triplets. Luckily the birthing center had a wonderful staff that had agreed to allow the triplets stay in the room with us and had even brought in cribs for the triplets to sleep in during the long delivery process.  

Inside the birthing room, Tim and Abby were in the center- Abby sitting on what looked like an oversized bouncing ball, while Tim stood behind her, his arms wrapped around his wife’s chest supportively. Abby, who was rocking back and forth on the balancing ball, was being checked by a midwife and an assisting doula. Abby looked up as I walked in and managed a wane smile.

“Hey Ziva. Welcome to the show.” Suddenly she leaned back into Tim’s chest and let out a low cry, her entire body tensing up. I winced in sympathy, remembering my own few contractions that I had experienced before the triplets were delivered by C-section. After speaking for a bit with the kindly midwife, an older woman named Jean Bargis, I went over to Abby’s unoccupied side and, after pulling up a comfortable chair, gently took my friend’s hand, swallowing a yelp when Abby’s hand tightened around mine in a death grip. At that moment, Tony and Gibbs, carrying the triplets between them, arrived in the birthing room. After setting the sleeping triplets into the cribs provided by the birthing center staff, Tony came over to me and pulled up another chair, resting his hand around my shoulders and grinning at Abby while Gibbs spoke to the midwife. A few minutes later, Gibbs too pulled up a chair next to the McGees and ran his hand through Abby’s disheveled hair, murmuring gentle words.

Everyone settled in for the long birth.

…..

Hours later, I was dozing, my head resting on Tony’s warm shoulder when his gentle voice broke through my cloud-filled head.

“Zi. Ziva honey, wake up. Abby needs you. Wake up Love.” Bleary and tired after twenty long hours, I opened my eyes to see that Abby was now in the birthing tub, leaning against Tim’s bare chest and breathing hard, with Gibbs looking on, a slightly concerned look on his face. I walked over to her side in time to hear her emit a very un-Abby-like whimper of pain.

“I… can’t… do… this…” Abby threw back her head, screaming in pain. I quickly grabbed both of her hands in my own and gave them a shake, drawing her attention to me. I stared into my adoptive sister’s grey-green eyes, doing my best to convey strength and comfort through my grip.

“Abby, you listen to me. You are a strong woman, and your baby needs you right now. We are all here to help you. Now breathe and listen to what your body is telling you.” Abby squeezed my hands and gave me a small smile before closing her eyes. Her chest rose and fell once, twice, three times, and then she tensed up, groaning as she pushed.

“I can see the head!” Jean called out. The midwife’s face was lit up with joy. “That’s it Abby, deep breaths. Push, puuush! Almost there- the head’s out! Here sweetie,” Jean grabbed Abby’s hand and guided it to the baby’s head. “That’s your baby!”

Abby leaned back, laughing with joy as she touched her child for the first time. The laugh became a grunt, and Abby was pushing, pushing until sweat ran down her face like tears, pushing until I thought she could push no more. Then I heard a splash, and looked over to see Jean pull a small bundle out of the water. As soon as the baby met air, it let out an ear-piercing shriek of protest, waving its tiny arms and legs. Jean laughed and gently placed the squirming, screaming bundle on Abby’s chest.

“Congratulations Abby and Tim! It’s a boy!”

…..

It was now seven o’ clock in the morning on March 11th, half an hour after the birth of Michael Lucas McGee, who was born at a healthy eight pounds, two ounces. Named after the late Mike Franks and Abby’s brother Luca, Michael had wispy sandy-blonde hair that was just like his father’s and grey-green eyes like his mother’s. Soon after his birth, Jean the midwife had sent us to retrieve the triplets and give the new parents some time alone with their new son. Gibbs, Tony and I had gently taken the triplets out of their cribs and into a smaller side room of the birthing center. Exhausted, yet elated, the three of us held the triplets as we spoke in low tones about the McGees’ new baby. Tony’s excitement was almost palatable as he babbled happily.

“Think about it, Zi… I’m pretty much an uncle now! And you’re an aunt, Gibb’s a grandpa and… oops.” Tali, who had been sleeping peacefully in his lap up until that moment, stirred sleepily at the sound of her father’s voice and her grey eyes slowly opened.

“Da-da?” Tony chuckled nervously at the sound of our daughter’s voice and bounced her gently, causing her to shriek happily. Gibbs and I gave Tony a sharp look as Kate and Isaiah stirred and woke, chattering and shrieking. Suddenly Isaiah looked around, seeming to suddenly notice that two people were missing.

“Bee? Gee?” He looked around for his missing aunt and uncle, looking towards Gibbs as if he would suddenly bring the two of them out from where they were hiding. Gibbs smiled indulgently at his adoptive grandson.

“Abby and Tim aren’t here right now Isaiah. They have a new baby to look after- baby Michael.” Kate, who was resting in his arms, looked up at him with a confused look.

“My- Myc- bay-bee?”

I laughed at Kate’s attempts to say her new cousin’s name. “That’s right Kate sweetie. Baby Michael Lucas McGee.” Tali turned towards me, smiling  her most charming smile.

“Baby ‘Gee!!”


	34. Steps

_Tony’s POV_

“That’s it Kate, just take one step at a time. Come to Daddy, Princess.”

Kate was standing unsteadily only a few feet away from me, clinging desperately to Ziva’s outstretched arms. Her brown eyes glared at me reproachfully, giving me a look that seemed to say “You have _got_ to be kidding me.” When it became clear that this wasn’t a joke, she glanced once at the floor and then took a small and tentative step forward, then another, and another. Ever so slowly, Ziva released our daughter’s tiny hands and let her pull away.

The triplets were now only a mere week away from their first birthdays and had already made several unsuccessful attempts to walk unassisted; over and over they had tried to make the small distance of four feet that Ziva and I would put between us, but would inevitably fall after the first few steps, if they even left Ziva’s arms at all. Of course, this struggle was likely normal, but Tali was causing me great concern- every time we had tried to get her to walk, she had obstinately refused to leave the safety of her mother’s arms, making me fear that her blindness would cause a severe delay in her walking.

However, my thoughts of Tali’s disability were immediately interrupted by a gasp from Ziva. Looking up, I saw that Isaiah, not Kate, was walking slowly, unsteadily, but surely, towards me from Ziva’s right. Kat had noticed Isaiah as well, and was clearly very unhappy about her show being stolen by her younger brother. Narrowing her eyes and letting loose with what I assumed was quite incendiary baby-babble, Kate took several shaky steps forward. Isaiah responded by spitting out what I assumed were infant curses and matched his sister’s vengeful steps. Now the two were clearly oblivious to everyone else and took step after unsteady step, their sibling rivalry driving them on much more than Ziva and I ever could. Kate and Isaiah toddled closer and closer to me, practically neck-and-neck, until they finally unbalanced and collapsed at the same time into my waiting arms.

Still oblivious, the two siblings continued their shrieking argument while I held them in my shaking arms, too stunned to speak. Across from me, Ziva let out a small cry and wiped something away from the corner of her chocolate-brown eye. This broke me out of my shock, causing me to grin until my cheeks hurt while bouncing the still-squabbling siblings on my knees.

“They did it! They actually walked!” I yelped. Kate and Isaiah, their argument interrupted by my voice, looked up at me and started to laugh as I tickled them, squirming away from my dancing fingers. As I continued, I looked up to see that Tali had crawled into the room and was staring blankly at the wall behind me, looking quite unhappy, It was quite clear that she knew of her siblings’ success- they had done something she would not do, or possibly _could_ not do. She desperately wanted to walk, but just did not know how. Ziva glanced at our daughter.

“Come, _tateleh_ ,” Ziva murmured softly. “You can do it Tali.” Ziva gently took the little girl’s hands in her own and lifted her up. Kate and Isaiah had wandered over to play with the toys once they figured out that the attention was no longer on them, and so I held out my arms to our daughter. Ever so slowly Ziva started to guide Tali forward and released her hands. As soon as she felt her support go, Tali gave a protesting shriek and stumbled backwards into her mother. Ziva wrapped her arms around the whimpering girl and hugged her close, murmuring soft reassurances in her tiny ear. Next to me, Kate looked at her younger sister irritably.

“Ali!” she barked in an exasperated tone. Tali responded by blowing a loud raspberry at her sister before burying her head into Ziva’s shoulder. Ziva ran her hands through Tali’s hair while shooting me a worried glance. I could tell from the uneasy look in my wife’s eyes that she was thinking the same thing that I was. Would Tali ever walk?

…..

“I cannot believe that they took their first steps and you didn’t even take pictures for me!”

Abby and Tim were sitting across from us on our living room couch, looking a bit ragged. The two-week-old source of their exhaustion was sleeping peacefully in his mother’s arms, completely oblivious to the triplets, who were literally falling over themselves, trying to see Michael up close. Added to the chaos of three ungainly bodies trying to touch the tiny bundle was Engel, who was dead determined to give the newest member of the NCIS family a sloppy kiss. Despite all of this, Abby was still able to muster a fair amount of indignation at not being able to see her niece and nephew walk for the very first time. Ziva rolled her eyes, but I could see that one corner of her mouth watch twitching upwards in her characteristic half-smile.

“Abby, they had made so many fake starts…”

“ _False_ starts, Zee-vah.” Ziva shot me a glare and went on.

“They had made so many **false** starts that we could not hope to document all of them. Besides, Isaiah’s walking was completely unexpected.” Ziva bounced Isaiah on her knee, while trying to keep Kate from poking the still-sleeping Michael. “We tried to see if Tali would walk as well.” Ziva said quietly and Abby’s eyes widened.

“You mean she hasn’t…?”

“No. When I tried to let go of her, she fell over. She has no problem crawling, but she won’t try to walk.”

At this time I was holding Tali and unconsciously stroked her hair. Tali squirmed, clearly trying to join Kate, who was trying to climb into Abby’s lap and see Michael. Eventually I gave up and set her down. Within seconds she was crawling over to meet her sister, and the two, evidently bored with trying to see Michael, went over to Tim, who could always be counted on for fun. Their uncle did not disappoint, and with seconds he was rolling on the floor with the two of them, all three laughing uproariously. Michael, startled awake by the sound, let out a shrill cry.

This, of course, caught the immediate attention the triplets. Three heads popped up, turning to the crying Michael, who was squirming in Abby’s arms. Isaiah and Kate lost interest quickly after they saw it was just Michael, but Tali remained interested because she couldn’t see what was going on. Giving a huff of exasperation, the little girl tipped forward on her hands and knees. Ever so slowly, she eased into a standing position and balanced unsteadily. She lifted her arms to stabilize herself and, before everyone’s amazed eyes, she took a step forward.

By now the whole room, with the exception of Kate and Isaiah, had fallen completely silent. Every adult’s eye was trained on Tali, who continued to take more and more steps. Before I had even fully comprehended it, Tali was halfway across the room, stepping with more grace than either of her siblings had ever mustered. Without truly understanding what she had done, Tali arrived at the couch and ran into Abby’s knees, using her hands to feel around, oblivious to the adult’s amazed stares. As the four of us looked at one another in shock, Abby spoke.

“Well, I guess she just wanted to do it on her own.”


	35. One Year

_Ziva’s POV_

“148…149, ughh…150! Awww yeah, new record! Take that!”

The high-pitched giggles of Kate, Tali and Isaiah filled the kitchen where I was making up a cake, and I could not help but to smile. It was the triplet’s first birthday, and the entire team- Gibbs, Abby, Tim, Michael, Ducky, Jimmy and Breena had all joined Tony and me at our house for the celebration.

I knew that if I were to go into the living room, I would see Tony playing the triplets’ new favorite game- lifting the children one at a time like weights, “bench-pressing” them as if on an actual workout regimen. Of course, the triplets though it was hilarious. A chorus of “Dabba!”s (the triplets’ slurring of ‘Abba’ and ‘Daddy’) erupted, announcing the fact that Tony had stopped.

“Wow, what a party- and we haven’t even gotten to the main event yet!” I turned around to see Abby standing in the kitchen entrance, grinning broadly and bouncing Michael, who was fussing. Abby nodded towards her son.

“Do you mind if I nurse Michael here? I have a blanket, but Tim gets weird if nurse him with other guys around. Plus, I thought you might like the company.” I smiled at her and nodded, pulling up a chair for Abby and making sure that she was comfortable before turning back to the birthday cake. As Michael settled down to nurse, a comfortable silence settled over the room. We stayed quiet for several minutes before Abby finally broke the silence.

“They’re one, Ziva, _one_! How can that be possible?” Turning, I saw that Abby had freed up one hand to pick up one of the three birthday candles shaped like a number “1”. She turned it over in her palm, staring at it with uncharacteristic silence. After placing the cake in the oven and setting the timer, I walked over to where Abby was sitting and picked up another candle myself, feeling a lump form in my throat.

“It is even more difficult for me to believe Abby.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw the black-haired woman glance up, but she said nothing. I let out a deep sigh, put the candle down, and continued. “I never thought I would have children, especially not in my old profession. Mossad agents tend not to live very long, especially those related to high-ranking officers like my fath… like Eli.” Looking at Abby, I saw that a sad look had crossed it. Catching my glance, she shifted Michael, who was finished nursing, to her shoulder. “No one, not even I, expected for me to live much past 25. 30 would have been a miracle for someone in my position. I wasn’t expected to survive half of the missions I was sent on, especially not… not Somalia. And I never would have thought I would start a family, and now I cannot imagine my life any other way. Tony, Isaiah, Kate, Tali, Gibbs, Ducky, Palmer, Tim, _you_ \- all of you are family, my life now.” I turned away from my friend, pausing to wipe a tear away. To my surprise, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and a deep voice spoke in my ear.

“None of us could imagine our lives without you Zi. Your past is behind you- you’re a _United States_ federal agent now, and more importantly, you’re a wife and a mother, and a damn fine one at that.” Tony’s lips brushed my ear, and I turned to meet his green eyes. There was softness in them, a softness that melted my heart. I rested my hand on his cheek, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Abby get up quietly and leave. Seconds later I heard a peal of laughter from the triplets, and suddenly there was a lump in my throat that made it difficult to swallow. Quickly I brushed my arm across my eyes to wipe away tears that were threatening to spill over. Tony’s hand snuck under my chin and lifted it so that I could not escape his piercing gaze- reminiscent of a certain silver-haired man in the adjoining room.

“You are _the_ most wonderful, kind, loving, intelligent and funny woman that I know, Zi. You’ve been through so much- more than any person should ever have to deal with, and yet you have come out even stronger because of it.” Tony leaned forward and captured my lips with his own. I closed my eyes as Tony wound his fingers into my hair, relishing in the moment. Intimate moments such as these were rare with three infants and it was easy to get lost in our passion.

“If you two lovebirds are done, there are three very impatient one-year-olds waiting for the two of ya!” We broke apart sharply, much to the clear amusement of Gibbs, who was leaning on the kitchen doorway, shaking his head and smirking. He jerked his finger out the door, and as we passed him to leave, he gave both of us a headslap.

…..

_Tony’s POV_

As Ziva and I entered the living room where the rest of the team was waiting, our earlier conversation kept running through my head. As much as Ziva hated bringing up her past, the near two years of marriage, plus our eight-year partnership, meant that there was little Ziva could effectively hide from me, especially where her feelings were concerned. I knew that Ziva struggled with her emotions surrounding her dark Mossad days, and yet I knew that part of her wonderful mothering came from her determination to never have her children grow up with the so-called “childhood” that had been forced on her.

My musings were interrupted by a loud and sudden chorus of “Dabba!” and “Ima-ma!” (The triplets’ personal slurring of Hebrew and English) and the three one-year-olds toddled happily over. On a whim, I dropped to the floor and allowed the triplets to dogpile me, laughing for the sheer joy of it all. Tali, always happy to flaunt her language skills, brought her face close to mine, her sightless grey eyes somehow looking directly into my own.

“Dabba! ‘Sents! ‘Sents! Gib’, ‘Bee, ‘Gee, ‘Duh-duh, ‘Mee, ‘Ben-ah, _‘Sents_!” It took me a second or two to translate One-year-old-speak into English, but then I laughed.

“That’s right Tali,” I said, cuddling her close. “Gibbs, Abby, McGee, Ducky, Autop- I mean Jimmy and Breena brought all of you presents.”

“ _That’s_ what Tali said?” Jimmy asked. “How could  you even…”

“It’s called _livin_ ’ with ‘em, Palmer. You’ll find out soon enough.” Gibbs said, nodding towards Breena. The blone-haired woman smiled and rubbed her stomach, still flat in her second month of pregnancy. “Now are we goin’ to sit around and yab, or can my grandkids open their presents?” Gibbs cut his famous glare, but the effect was ruined when Michael, comfortably snuggled in his grandpa’s arms, blew a loud raspberry. Everyone in the room burst into laughter while Engel barked happily.

Eventually, everyone calmed down and Ziva, still chuckling, reached out and took three presents from the rather large pile and distributed them to each of the triplets. Thanks to their all-too-“generous” aunt and uncle, grandpa as well as Ducky, Jimmy and Breena, all three were quite adept at opening presents and wasted no time ripping into the paper and cardboard. Brightly-colored gifts spilled out of the packages. Hand-carved and painted wooden toys from Gibbs (including a full-sized, incredibly realistic rocking horse), stuffed toys and (expensive) clothes from Abby, puzzles and motor-skill games from Tim, a plastic oversized medical play set and teething toys from Ducky, and three incredibly soft fleece blankets embroidered with the triplets’ names from Jimmy and Breena (most likely Breena’s doing, all things considered). Too add to the triplets’ sheer delight, Ziva pulled out their large birthday cake and instructed me to get the ice cream and matches. We lit the three 1-shaped candles and sang, holding the triplets back from the dancing flames.

The team helped the triplets blow out the candles and serve the cake. It didn’t take very long for us to find out that it didn’t take much sugar to overload one-year-old systems, and we spent the next couple of minutes trying to keep up with the hyper infants. Fortunately the triplets couldn’t keep up that amount of energy for long, and were out like lights within seconds. At this, Tim, Abby, (along with Michael) Jimmy and Breena took their cues to leave and after several “goodbye”s and “thank-you”s, the two couples were gone.

Only Gibbs remained with us, absently rocking Kate, who had fallen asleep in her grandfather’s arms. He was looking towards Ziva, but his eyes had a strange and faraway look in them. Somehow, I just knew that he was thinking about Shannon and Kelly. Within the protective circle of her grandfather’s arms, Kate shifted and muttered in her sleep, causing him to look down at her. He ran a calloused hand through our oldest daughter’s hair, and once he looked up again, I could see that his eyes were moist.

“Never thought I’d have grandkids.” He paused, freeing an arm and wiping it across his eyes. “Never thought I could ever love like I did with my girls.” Gibbs sighed, stood, and then walked with us to the nursery. He kissed Kate on her forehead and then gently lowered her into the crib, laying the new fleece blanket over her. Turning back to us, he gently took Isaiah, and then Tali, kissing the both of them and laying them in their respective cribs. He then returned to us, gave Ziva a kiss on the forehead, and clapped me on the shoulder.

“Thanks for proving me wrong you two.”

…..

_Ziva’s POV_

Night had fallen, the moon had risen, and although it was late, I was unable to fall asleep. The house was quiet- only the sound of the settling house and Tony’s soft breathing broke the silence. I lay in our bed, staring at the ceiling, my thoughts racing as the day’s earlier conversation passed through my head.

_“They’re one Ziva, one! How can that be?”_

_“Mossad agents do not live very long…”_

_“All of you are my family, my life now.”_

My head was reeling-sleep was impossible. As carefully and quietly as possible, I extracted myself from the arm Tony had carelessly thrown around me and crept down the hall towards the nursery. I passed by the light switch without turning it on, reached down to give the sleepy Engel a pat (earning two lazy thumps from his tail) and then stood in the center of the three cribs, watching the three infants sleeping peacefully, illuminated by the moonlight. My heart jumped at sight, and I scrubbed a hand over very wet eyes. Suddenly Tony’s voice sounded softly behind me.

“You can’t let yourself think like this Ziva. Not anymore. You’re a mother, and a damn good one at that.” My husband wrapped his strong and comforting arms around me, and I leaned into his warm embrace. He led me into one of the two rocking chairs and sat himself in the other, grasping my hand in his large one. Engel, intrigued by the arrival of a new person, lazily woke and stretched, yawning before trotting over and settling himself at our feet, pushing his head under Tony’s hand so that my husband would scratch behind his ears. I looked over at Tony, whose soft eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight.

“You can’t let yourself get lost in your past anymore, Love. Gibbs was right- that part of you died in Africa. You are still my tough, crazy, beautiful ninja warrior, but you’re part of a family now too, _our family._ You can’t forget that, okay? I love you, the triplets love you, and that’s all that matters.” Tony raised my hand to his mouth and kissed it, his eyes shining with unshed tears. The moment was broken when a soft sound filled our ears, and suddenly Tali began to cry. Within seconds, Kate and Isaiah were awake and howling. Tony and I sighed in unison and with practiced ease, we started picking up the three, holding and settling them, doing our best to find out what was the matter. It soon became apparent that Tali had soiled her diaper and the other two had simply woken up to the crying.

The problem was remedied within seconds, and soon Tony and I had the three infants settled in between the both of us. Their cries quieted, then silenced as they settled back into sleep. The warm press of their bodies along with Tony’s strong hand, soothed me, and suddenly I felt it. The sense of family, the sense of love overwhelmed me, strengthened me. I looked at Tali, her dirty brown hair, her father’s hair, flopped over her sightless eyes, her ear pressed against my chest so that she could hear and feel my heartbeat. Kate, almost identical to her sister, lay between my arms and Tony’s, fidgeting even in her sleep. And lying dwarfed in Tony’s arms was Isaiah, his dark skin and hair contrasting against his father’s lighter skin. A sense of peace filled me, and I leaned over to kiss Tony, my heart full to near bursting. I leaned over to kiss him, and then looked once more at the triplets.

“Happy birthday my beautiful _yeladim_ , my beautiful children.”


End file.
